One day after being named the 2013 Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year, Florida State freshman quarterback Jameis Winston learned that he will not face charges stemming from rape allegations. Accused of rape by a female student at FSU nearly a year ago, the 19-year-old Heisman Trophy hopeful was unsure of the legal road ahead of him. After carefully examining all the details presented to them, the Second Judicial Circuit of Florida and state attorney Willie Meggs found that Winston was not guilty of any claims made against him.
The rising college football superstar was facing felony charges after he was accused of sexual assault at an off-campus party last December. Thoroughly investigating the claims and using all the information given to them, state attorney Meggs and his team -- who took over the case last month from the Tallahassee Police Department -- came to the conclusion that no charges would be handed down. This decision came two weeks after Meggs spoke with Winston's accuser who originally stated that she was raped at an apartment after a night of drinking at a local bar.
"We've carefully examined all the evidence in this case and have concluded that no charges will be brought against anyone in this case," Willie Meggs said. We have a duty as prosecutors to only file those charges if we have a reasonable likelihood of a conviction. After reviewing all of the evidence of the case, we did not feel like we could meet that burden. I will let y'all determine that when you review the facts. We didn't feel we had sufficient evidence to go forward, to bring the case to trial to prove it was not consensual."
Willie Meggs also noted that the situation would have been better handled if all parties, including the Tallahassee Police, had gotten involved in quicker fashion rather than wait to resolve the issue almost a year later. Noting that his team conducted loads of laboratory work as well, Meggs indicated that DNA from two males -- one belonging to Jameis Winston and the other unnamed -- would not be overly strong in court because an unknown sample in a sexual assault matter would not hold water.
"In the laboratory work that we did, and you'll see that in the reports, there were DNA from males -- one was identified as being Winston's DNA and the other one was unknown," he said. "Obviously if we were going to proceed to trial, having unknown DNA in a sexual assault kit would be a problem."
Meggs also believes that the finding of another DNA sample probably means that the accuser had another sexual encounter with and that the alleged victim also shared a past relationship with the unidentified male.
In guiding the Seminoles to an unblemished 12-0 record and the No. 1 ranking in the nation, Jameis Winston is the leading candidate for the 2013 Heisman Trophy according to many. Throwing for 3,490 yards, 38 touchdowns and only 5 interceptions, the freshman phenom can now focus on the upcoming ACC Championship Game pitting No. 1 FSU against No. 20 Duke. A win for Florida State would send the undefeated Seminoles to the 2013 BCS National Championship Game.
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