Florida State is going ahead with a school investigation of star player Jameis Winston for alleged rape, even though prosecutors decided last December not to charge Winston criminally. (Source: WFTV)
Another FSU student claimed that Winston, who won the Heisman Trophy as a freshman in December 2013, raped her in December 2012.
But State Attorney Willie Meggs said last December, a year after the alleged assault, that the woman's memory lapses about events were problematic and there was not enough evidence to win a conviction.
Now, however, John Clune, an attorney for the woman, says Florida State officials finally met with her in person and interviewed her at length for the first time since the alleged assault was reported to police nearly two years ago. Clune said officials met with the alleged victim after she filed a complaint with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, which began investigating how FSU handles sexual assaults earlier this year.
The Title IX law requires schools to investigate and adjudicate claims of sexual harassment and violence despite the outcome of any police investigation.
Clune said he expected the school's investigation to result in disciplinary action.
"We expect that there will be code of conduct charges that will be brought," he said. "There's no basis not to bring those charges now." (Source: USA Today)
If Winston does get hit by code of conduct charges from the university, the decision made after the investigation would be based on a "preponderance of the evidence" standard, as federal guidelines require.
Title IX investigations are required to be completed within 30 days. A student code of conduct violation could result in a range of disciplinary actions — a written or verbal reprimand or expulsion.
Winston is not the only one being investigated in connection with the alleged assault. Two teammates, Ronald Darby and Chris Casher, were also investigated.
Darby was found not responsible for code of conduct violations, but Casher admitted to videotaping a sexual encounter between Winston and the accuser and was found responsible for two violations of the school's student code of conduct. He was placed on one year's probation as a result. (Source: WSJ)
And, finally, this alleged assault is not the only off-the-field bad publicity for Winston. In April, he was cited for walking out of a supermarket without paying for crab legs and crawfish. (Source: WFTV)
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