Thursday following a weeklong trial, a Kansas jury declared former Illinois basketball player Terrence Shannon Jr. not guilty of felony rape and aggravated sexual assault.
After a woman said he dragged her toward him and violated her vagina with his fingers shortly after they met, Shannon was arrested in December for an alleged incident in September at a Lawrence, Kansas club. Shannon regularly refuted the claims, and trial witnesses for his defense claimed they never saw Shannon approach a woman in the manner police described. The woman went to authorities after discovering Shannon’s photo on a team roster online following the claimed event.
“We’re happy with the outcome,” Shannon’s lawyer Mark Sutter stated. “Terrence Shannon Jr. at last had his court day. We refuted the claims back in September and promised then that one day soon we would be in court. We did. We also find the result satisfactory. Ultimately, too, I believe the public at large owes Shannon Jr. an apology.”
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Shannon was suspended by Illinois upon his arrest and started its own inquiry. Before his temporary restraining order was obtained and he returned to the court, he missed six games. He then guided the squad to the NCAA championship. Later on, the institution shelved its research citing insufficient data.
“I am delighted for Terrence with the news of today’s verdict,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. “Terrence has demonstrated great poise, maturity, and concentration under six months of severe scrutiny. He can finally put this behind him and resume his life. Along with everyone in our Illinois Basketball program, I will keep Terrence totally supported as he works to realize his NBA aspirations.
Reflecting that feeling, Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman said the decision was “a tremendous sigh of relief” for him and others close to Shannon.
“This has been a very serious and unfortunate situation for all people involved, and I am happy for Terrence that it has been resolved and his name has been cleared,” Whitman said. “We eagerly await supporting him as he starts his NBA path.”
Shannon was an expected top-25 choice in the forthcoming NBA draft before her arrest. According to his counsel, he will show up for many workouts with professional clubs starting Friday as he keeps getting ready for the draft.
His lawyers moved last week to buttress the likelihood of a mistaken identification case using video footage. Shannon, however, depended on others at the bar that evening including Kansas players Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCullar Jr. as well as character witnesses. On Thursday, he also testified in support of his own defense.
His lawyers said in their closing remarks that Shannon’s DNA evidence vanished from her body following her examination at a nearby hospital that evening and attacked the inquiry that identified him as the case’s suspect.
“He’s a good kid and we had a lot of quite good character witnesses in addition to the investigation and the challenge of all the evidence, or lack thereof,” Sutter said. “It was a nice turnout for him.”
Source: espn.in