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| FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2013, file photo, Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston warms up before an NCAA college football game against Florida in Gainesville, Fla. The prosecutor overseeing the investigation of sexual assault allegations against Winston says it is completed. State Attorney Willie Meggs has scheduled a news conference at 2 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 5, 2013, in his office to announce his findings. |
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.
(AP) -- Florida State quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate
Jameis Winston will not be charged with sexually assaulting a woman who
accused him of raping her about a year ago, a prosecutor said Thursday.
State
Attorney Willie Meggs made the announcement at a news conference,
saying the woman's memory lapses of the events last December were
problematic and there was not enough evidence to win a conviction. The
woman told police she had been drinking at a bar with friends before the
alleged assault took place at an off-campus apartment.
"It's not inconsistencies, it's lack of memory most of the time," Meggs said of the woman's allegations.
While
the alleged assault happened last December, reports didn't surface in
the public until November, as the redshirt freshman was well into a
remarkable season with Florida State.
Winston,
19, has led the Seminoles to a No. 1 ranking and a shot at a national
championship if they defeat Duke on Saturday in the ACC championship
game. As for the Heisman, many voters were waiting to see whether he
would be charged before the deadline for ballots Monday. The trophy for
the nation's top player will be awarded Dec. 14.
Meanwhile,
the woman's family was sharply critical of the Tallahassee Police
Department, accusing the agency of delaying the investigation and
discouraging her from going forward with the case because of the public
attention it would receive.
"The victim has
grave concerns that her experience, as it unfolded in the public eye and
through social media, will discourage other victims of rape from coming
forward and reporting," according to a statement from the accuser and
her family.
The Associated Press does not identify alleged victims of sexual assault.
The
alleged assault was reported to police Dec. 7, 2012, but it wasn't
until last month before the public had any idea Winston was the subject
of a sexual assault investigation. And it wasn't until Thursday that
specific details of the woman's accusations began to emerge.
She
told police she and friends had five to six shots at a bar and her
"memory is very broken from that point forward," according to a search
warrant for cell phone records. She said she remembered being in a cab
with a "non-descript" black man and going into an apartment, but she
didn't remember where it was.
The warrant said
she tried to fight the man off, and at some point, another man came
into the room and told him to stop. But the two went into a bathroom
"where he completed the act."
Her next memory was of the suspect dressing her, putting her on a scooter and dropping her off at a campus intersection.
The
woman told police she initially didn't know who assaulted her. She
identified Winston, who is black, about a month after the alleged
assault.
Meggs' office took over the case last
month and interviewed the accuser. They also took DNA from Winston and
matched it to DNA on the woman's underwear. They also matched DNA on her
shorts to her boyfriend at the time.
Winston's
attorney, Timothy Jansen, said Winston had consensual sex with the
accuser. Winston refused to be interviewed by police and has not talked
about the case to the media.
The quarterback said in a statement he was relieved.
"It's been difficult to stay silent through this process, but I never lost faith in the truth and in who I am," Winston said.
The
accuser's family has been sharply critical of the way Tallahassee
police have handled the case. They said they pushed to have a DNA sample
taken from Winston, only to be told by a police detective that it would
alert Winston and make the case public. The family said Carroll was
warned by police that Tallahassee is a "big football town, and the
victim needs to think long and hard before proceeding against him
because she will be raked over the coals and her life will be made
miserable."
Tallahassee police have defended
their handling of the case and said it was placed on inactive status in
February after police were told the alleged victim did not wish to
prosecute the case. The woman's attorney has denied that the woman
wanted to drop the investigation.
The alleged
victim was an FSU student, but she left school last month as media
reports of the case surfaced. Meggs said when his office spoke with the
woman last month, she wanted the case to move forward.
At
a restaurant on campus, students high-fived one another and did the
Seminole's chant and tomahawk chop when Meggs' said no charges would be
filed.
"It's been a tough couple weeks," said
Justin Savage, a 21-year-old senior sports management major from Fort
Walton Beach. "I'm just so grateful. He's just so lovable a guy. You can
see him on campus and he'll talk to you, it doesn't matter who you
are."
