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Raleigh, Wake County

Raleigh: Ex-N.C. State student and Army captain charged in two 2019 campus sexual assaults

Michael Adam Kranzburg, 27, faces kidnapping, strangulation, forcible sex offense and sexual battery charges after a second alleged victim reported in October. He was extradited from Georgia and is held without bond.

ConfirmedThe main facts are confirmed by official or first-hand sources.

By Alexandru Stanciu · Published

Downtown Raleigh buildings under a blue sky

File photo: James Willamor (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons.

What we know

Confirmed

  • Michael Adam Kranzburg, 27, an active-duty U.S. Army captain stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia, is charged in Wake County in connection with two alleged sexual assaults on North Carolina State University's campus in 2019.Confirmed by Court records and Fort Benning Public Affairs, as reported by WRAL, The News & Observer and ABC11 (Nov. 4, 2026)
  • Court records cited by The News & Observer list first-degree kidnapping, assault by strangulation, and two counts each of second-degree forcible sex offense and sexual battery.Confirmed by Court records, via The News & Observer (Nov. 4, 2026)
  • The charges involve two separate incidents in February 2019 and December 2019 while Kranzburg was an N.C. State student. The alleged victims were adults, ages 18 and 19 at the time, according to arrest warrants cited by The News & Observer.Confirmed by Arrest warrants and court documents, via The News & Observer and WRAL (Nov. 4, 2026)
  • Kranzburg was arrested Oct. 13 in Georgia, according to Muscogee County court records cited by The News & Observer, and was extradited to North Carolina on Tuesday, Nov. 3. A judge on Wednesday ordered him held without bond at the Wake County Detention Center.Confirmed by Muscogee County court records and Wake County court proceedings, via The News & Observer, WRAL and ABC11 (Nov. 4, 2026)
  • N.C. State confirmed that campus police investigated a reported sexual assault in December 2019 and that the Wake County District Attorney's Office declined to pursue charges then. In October 2026, campus police received a new report alleging Kranzburg was responsible for that December 2019 assault and for a separate February 2019 assault; prosecutors then moved forward on both cases.Confirmed by N.C. State University spokesperson, via The News & Observer and WRAL (Nov. 4, 2026)
  • Fort Benning Public Affairs confirmed Kranzburg has been stationed there since March 2025 and began active-duty service in May 2021. A spring commencement program shows he graduated from N.C. State in 2021.Confirmed by Fort Benning Public Affairs; N.C. State commencement program, via The News & Observer and WRAL (Nov. 4, 2026)
  • Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman told The News & Observer the current Sigma Nu hazing investigation did not lead to these charges. Sigma Nu's national organization told outlets Kranzburg's membership was suspended in 2019 and he was expelled in 2021.Confirmed by Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman; Sigma Nu national organization, via The News & Observer, WRAL and ABC11 (Nov. 4, 2026)

Alleged or reported

  • In February 2019, Kranzburg forced a person to engage in a sexual act. In December 2019, he kidnapped, restrained and sexually assaulted another person and strangled that person with his bare hands, causing bruising to the neck. Warrants in both cases accuse him of forcibly biting the victims' lips.Arrest warrants, as reported by WRAL and The News & Observer (Nov. 4, 2026). A charge is an accusation. Kranzburg is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court

Still unknown

  • How Kranzburg will plead
  • A firm next court date beyond a tentative appearance later this month
  • Whether additional charges will be filed

What this means for you

Public safety
These charges are accusations. Kranzburg is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. This site is not an emergency service. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911.

Instructions from Wake County courts

This site is not a court and not the police. For the case file, use Wake County court records. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911.

What happened

In Raleigh, Michael Adam Kranzburg, 27, an active-duty U.S. Army captain and North Carolina State University graduate, is charged in two alleged sexual assaults on campus in 2019 after a second person reported in October.

Court records cited by The News & Observer list first-degree kidnapping, assault by strangulation, and two counts each of second-degree forcible sex offense and sexual battery. The papers describe separate February 2019 and December 2019 incidents involving two adults who were then 18 and 19. A charge is an accusation. Kranzburg is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

Arrest warrants described by WRAL and that newspaper say the February file accuses him of forcing a person into a sexual act, and the December file alleges kidnapping, restraint, sexual assault and strangulation that bruised another person's neck. Both warrants also accuse him of forcibly biting the victims' lips.

Kranzburg was arrested Oct. 13 in Georgia and extradited to North Carolina on Tuesday, Nov. 3, according to Muscogee County records those outlets cited. On Wednesday, a judge ordered him held without bond at the Wake County Detention Center.

N.C. State said campus police investigated a December 2019 report when it was filed and that prosecutors declined to charge then. After the October 2026 report, the district attorney's office moved forward on both cases, university and prosecutor statements carried by those outlets show.

Fort Benning Public Affairs confirmed Kranzburg has been stationed there since March 2025. District Attorney Lorrin Freeman told reporters these charges are not tied to the separate Sigma Nu hazing investigation now under way; Sigma Nu's national organization said his membership was suspended in 2019 and he was expelled in 2021.

This story is not an official or emergency notice. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911.

Related coverage

Why it matters

Prosecutors have charged a former N.C. State student, now an Army captain, in two 2019 campus sexual assaults after a second alleged victim came forward. The university community needs a clear account of what the papers charge, what officials confirmed, and what remains alleged.

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Updates

  1. Nov 4, 2026, 6:05 PM

    First file from court records and university and Army statements via WRAL, The News & Observer and ABC11. Kranzburg charged in two 2019 campus sexual assaults; extradited Nov. 3; held without bond.

Sources

  1. Army captain charged in 2 sexual assaults at NC State dating back to 2019 was in Sigma Nu frat (WRAL, Nov. 4, 2026: charges; warrants; Fort Benning Public Affairs; N.C. State on 2019 decline-to-charge and October 2026 new report; held without bond Wednesday; Sigma Nu suspension/expulsion. Text-only; no WRAL photos used.)

    Published by WRAL · Checked Nov 4, 2026, 6:15 PM

  2. Former NC State Sigma Nu brother charged in on-campus sexual assaults (The News & Observer, Lexi Solomon and Jane Winik Sartwell, Nov. 4, 2026: court records on charge counts; ages 18 and 19; Muscogee arrest Oct. 13 and Tuesday extradition; N.C. State spokesperson; DA Freeman on second-victim corroboration and no link to current Sigma Nu hazing probe; held without bail. Text-only; no N&O photos used.)

    Official sourcePublished by The News & Observer · Checked Nov 4, 2026, 6:15 PM

  3. 2nd victim comes forward years after sexual assault at NC State, Army Captain face charges (ABC11 / WTVD, Sean Coffey and Jon Dowding, Nov. 4, 2026: Wednesday court appearance; held without bond; Army confirmation of Fort Benning posting since March 2025; Freeman and prosecutor comments on the 2019 decline-to-charge; Sigma Nu membership history; charges unrelated to current hazing investigation. Text-only; no ABC11 photos used.)

    Published by ABC11 · Checked Nov 4, 2026, 6:15 PM

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