( CNN ) -- Two college football players were arraigned in Massachusetts Superior Court on Wednesday for allegedly kicking and beating a homeless man until a passerby shielded the victim 's body with her own , the Suffolk County District Attorney 's Office said . Craig `` C.J . '' Parsons , 22 , and Anthony Varrichione , 23 , were charged with aggravated assault and battery and aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon . Additionally , Parsons was charged with `` with violating the state 's witness intimidation statute in an attempt to stymie the investigation , '' the District Attorney 's Office said . Parsons is a senior football player at Boston College , and Varrichione , a former quarterback , recently graduated from Marist College in Poughkeepsie , New York . Both men pleaded not guilty in court Wednesday , a spokesman for the District Attorney 's Office said . The incident occurred early January 26 . The unidentified victim , 50 , is a homeless man who was panhandling in Boston 's Allston neighborhood . After an argument between him and the other two men , Parsons and Varrichione allegedly punched and kicked him . Prosecutors say Parsons also knocked the man 's head into the sidewalk , rendering him unconscious . A female passerby saw part of the attack and ran to the victim 's aid , using her body to shield him from the attackers . Other witnesses called 911 , and the victim was taken to a nearby hospital . The man is expected to survive but has no memory of the attack , prosecutors say . Wednesday 's arraignment comes after a three-month grand jury investigation that called 17 civilian witnesses to testify after a Boston police investigation was unable to identify the attackers . The investigation also found evidence that Parsons told someone to not identify him to investigators , leading to his witness intimidation charge . Parsons , who was set to graduate this spring , has been given an immediate suspension from Boston College `` in light of the disturbing nature of the allegations , '' said Jack Dunn , director of communications for the college . Michael Doolin , Parsons ' attorney , told CNN that his client is `` a wonderful young man from a fine family . '' `` I think that after a full and thorough investigation , that when we get this case to trial , that C.J . will be exonerated , '' he said . Varrichione 's attorney , Tim Flaherty , said his client `` has had no previous difficulties in life , '' adding that Varrichione is hopeful that a full examination of all of the circumstances will exonerate him . Parsons and Varrichione were released on their own recognizance Wednesday , their attorneys said . Varrichione is listed as having a height of 6 feet , 4 inches and a weight of 225 pounds on the Marist College Athletics website . Parsons played tight end for the Boston College Eagles and is listed as being 6 feet , 6 inches tall and weighing 253 pounds on the Boston College Athletics website . A court date has been set for June 4 , prosecutors say . FBI to study evidence in fatal beating of California homeless man . CNN 's Lawrence Crook III contributed to this report .
They 're accused of beating him into unconsciousness . The beating continued until a passerby shielded the victim 's body , prosecutors say . Both men pleaded not guilty in Massachusetts Superior Court on Wednesday . Comment: I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that you are referring to this case as being about " race " or some other kind of social construct rather than actual physical violence