Atlanta

Atlanta Falcons end contract of player arrested on child indecency charges in Texas

ATLANTA — Falcons linebacker Barkevious Mingo has been arrested on child indecency charges in Texas, according to police.

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Mingo, who was signed to a one-year contract with the Falcons in March, was arrested on Thursday in Arlington,.

Late Saturday night, the Falcons announced they have terminated Mingo’s contract.

This was the only comment the team made regarding the move.

“After being made aware today of allegations involving Barkevious Mingo and gathering information on the matter, the Atlanta Falcons have terminated his contract.”

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Police say Mingo was arrested on one count of sexual indecency with a child. His bond has been set at $25,000.

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Mingo turned himself in and has posted bond. He has been released from custody.

Shortly after the incident became public Saturday afternoon, the Falcons released a statement saying: “Our organization became aware of the allegations involving Barkevious Mingo today and are currently gathering information on this incident. The Falcons take the allegations very seriously and will continue to monitor the situation.”

The attorney representing Mingo provided a statement to Channel 2′s Michael Seiden, saying: “The allegations out of Tarrant County against my client are completely baseless. Barkevious Mingo is innocent. At this stage, our side has very limited information. What we do know is these allegations are from over two years ago and are completely untrue. Mr. Mingo is the victim of a false claim, and we believe this is motivated by money or some other ulterior motive. We are confident when the truth comes to light, my client will be fully exonerated,” said Lukas Garcia, attorney with Chris Lewis + Associates.

Mingo was a star player at Louisiana State University and played on six NFL teams before signing with the Falcons.