No charges for FL State QB

[redheadbaker]

www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/acc/2013/12/05/william-meggs-florida-state-quarterback-jameis-winston-sexual-battery-investigation/3874353/

TALLAHASSEE — Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston will not be charged after an investigation into an alleged sexual battery, State Attorney William Meggs said today.

"We prosecute the cases that we have evidence on," Meggs said Thursday.Winston had been under investigation since Nov. 13 in connection with the alleged Dec. 7, 2012 incident. The case did not reach the desk of the State Attorney William Meggs until nearly 11 months after the alleged incident, and only then after media outlets made public records requests to view the case file from the Tallahassee police.

"Obviously it would have been somewhat better if we had been involved a little bit earlier," Meggs said.Winston's attorney Tim Jansen denied the allegation to USA TODAY Sports.

Winston, a redshirt freshman, has quarterbacked Florida State to the top of the Bowl Championship Series Standings and the No. 1 ranking in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and is considered the top contender to win the Heisman trophy on Dec. 14.

Florida State is scheduled to leave Tallahassee on Thursday night for Charlotte, site of Saturday's ACC Championship. Two days later at 5 p.m., Heisman trophy ballots are due.Winston submitted a DNA sample on Nov. 14, according to Jansen, and that sample turned up positive a week later. However, Meggs said Thursday, "In the laboratory work that we did, there were DNA from males. One was identified as being Winston's DNA and the other was unknown. Had we proceeded to trial, having an unknown DNA in a sexual assault case would be a problem."

Meggs told USA TODAY Sports on Nov. 15 his office is supposed to review all sexual assault cases to ensure law enforcement agencies have properly investigated and collected evidence before deciding whether there's probable cause to make an arrest. He was unsure why that didn't happen in this case.Asked Thursday whether police did not handle the case properly, Meggs said, "That will be something that others will have to decide. ... Obviously it would have been better if it had been handled differently earlier."

"We could have identified the suspect a lot earlier if other things had been done."Meggs reopened the case Nov. 13 and assigned two investigators, though he acknowledged the 11-month lag time complicated matters. "It's not as easy as it would be if we were fresh on it, obviously, but it's not impossible," Meggs said on Nov. 15. "I think we're going to be able to reconstruct the events of that night."

On Nov. 20, the family of the alleged victimissued a statement identifying Winston as her assailant and criticizing the Tallahassee Police Department's handling of the investigation. The statement said a TPD detective working on the case warned the woman's attorney that she would be "raked over the coals" if she proceeded with the complaint.

On Nov. 21, Jansen told reporters he was not surprised by the results of the DNA test but said the interaction between his client and the alleged victim was "consensual."

The next day, the family of the alleged victim released a statement through their attorney questioning the timing and rationale behind comments Jansen and emphasizing that the alleged incident was not consensual.

"To be clear, the victim did not consent," attorney Patricia Carroll wrote in the statement, issued to USA TODAY Sports and other media outlets. "This was a rape."On Nov. 27, Tallahassee police released their account, in timeline form, of their handling of the alleged incident, one that countered statements by both attorneys.

Jansen said he had met with Meggs earlier that day "to speed things up", though Meggs said "absolutely nothing" was accomplished by Jansen's visit. Jansen expressed concern to USA TODAY Sports that the duration of the investigation could affect Winston'schances of winning the Heisman trophy, awarded annually to college football's most outstanding player.

On Thursday, shortly before Meggs' announcement, Tallahassee police released search warrants that detail the accusations toward Winston, warrants that did not include Winston's name.

Winston's Heisman candidacy has seemingly been unaffected by the investigation. When the State Attorney's inquiry launched, only 20% of Heisman voters surveyed by USA TODAY Sports said the existence of an investigation would affect their willingness to vote for Winston. And Winston's lead in USA TODAY Sports'weekly Heisman survey has grown every week since mid-November.

[osulori]

I'm not surprised this was the outcome.

[eddy]

Well isn't that all nice and tidy.

[IIOY]

I've read exactly two articles about this and I'm not sure I understand quite what went wrong with the investigation.

[Knight]

What a bunch of chucklefucks.

[spankswife]

I feel bad for both parties, and for all victims. Apparently she had DNA from both Winston and her BF. She also said she was wasted, but had a blood alcohol level of 0.04, and a clean tox screen, and no signs of "trauma." I feel terrible if she was raped, and they dropped the ball. I also feel terrible if she cheated on her BF, felt guilty, and claimed rape, or some other random story, especially for legit victims. No one will probably ever know the real truth. Unfortunately either scenario is possible and it is a shame no matter how you look at it.

espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/10082441/jameis-winston-not-charged-sexual-assault-investigation

[otowngirl]

Well I'm glad they at least had a good laugh about the whole thing. 

[whiskeyandwine]

Dec 5, 2013 14:20:33 GMT -5 IIOY said:

I've read exactly two articles about this and I'm not sure I understand quite what went wrong with the investigation.

He is the school's starting QB and she had had sex with a man, before, in her life, at some point.

[gpw]

Dec 5, 2013 14:29:05 GMT -5 @letshike said:

Shocker. I feel bad for this girl. She ended up having to leave school. And she is being blasted for having slept with someone else around the same time and being drunk. Rape culture man.

This is what KILLED me about that statement.  He basically called her a drunk slut.  I saw fire red rage when I heard that. 

[elleblue]

Dec 5, 2013 15:41:19 GMT -5 otowngirl said:

Well I'm glad they at least had a good laugh about the whole thing. 

"Was there a sexual assault?" is a convoluted question?  ^o)

[Deleted]

Dec 6, 2013 13:45:00 GMT -5 @dyermaker said:

Dec 6, 2013 12:05:37 GMT -5 gpw said:

This is what KILLED me about that statement. He basically called her a drunk slut. I saw fire red rage when I heard that.

I thought one of the inconsistencies in her story was that she claimed to be very drunk but had a normal BAC. I haven't followed this closely so forgive me if I am wrong.

I know nothing about this story, did the police interview her and collect evidence moments after the alleged assault? Because her BAC may have gone down if there was a lapse in time.

[Deleted]

If you aren't much of a drinker, it wouldn't take much to feel weird, would it? Even if your BAC doesn't reflect it?