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Jeremiah True, who made headlines this spring when he criticized a professor for excluding him from class for his comments about sexual assault, was arraigned in court on Friday on sex abuse and harassment allegations.

Jeremiah Luther Josiah True, a 20-year-old student from Reed College, pleaded not guilty Friday to allegations that he inappropriately touched two young women during their athletic practice in a Northeast Portland park last week.

True, who drew publicity earlier this year when he complained he was barred from a Reed College humanities course for his views on rape, was arrested by Portland police on Thursday.

Jeremiah True, 20

According to a probable cause affidavit filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court, True walked up to and caressed the hair and arm of a female who was among a team of students practicing at Normandale Park, at the intersection of Northeast 57th Avenue and Halsey Street.

True walked off, talking to himself, but returned to the park about 30 minutes later and approached a 17-year-old female and touched her breast with his open hand, and make a remark about her chest, the affidavit said.

Several witnesses restrained True until police arrived.

Portland police Officer E. Lamonte Johnson said True's pupils were constricted and he was responding irrationally to questions and appeared to be under the influence of a controlled substance, deputy district attorney Andrew Freeman wrote in the probable cause affidavit.

True was taken into custody and accused of third-degree sex abuse and harassment.

Once booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center Thursday evening at 6:49 p.m., he told court officials, "Someone said I was on acid,'' according to court records.

Court officials said True appeared to have lost any concept of time. He told court officials he was on a leave of absence from college, and suffering from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to court documents.

According to ReedQuest, True was excluded from campus in late March, with a college Community Rights Subcommittee Honor Case filed against him.

True remains in custody in the downtown Portland jail. His next court hearing is May 22.

Earlier this year, True, a student from southern California, said a Reed College professor booted him from Humanities classes after he disputed a statistic that one in five women in college are sexually assaulted. But a Reed spokesman said True was bounced for being persistently disruptive.

--Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212; @maxoregonian