Prosecutor: FSU quarterback won't be charged

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Prosecutors announced they will not charge FSU quarterback Jameis Winston in an alleged sexual assault.

The alleged assault occurred nearly a year ago, but it wasn't until last month that Tallahassee police turned over information about the case to prosecutors.

State Attorney Willie Meggs said Wednesday his office had "exhausted all investigative tools" since the case was handed over in mid-November.

"We have learned as much as we can learn," said Meggs, who announced his findings at a 2 p.m. news conference at the Leon County Courthouse.

In the short time since Meggs' office took over the case, investigators have taken DNA from Winston, interviewed the victim and looked at other evidence.

The accuser's family has said in a statement that Winston raped the woman. ESPN reported that DNA found in the accuser's underwear matched Winston. But Winston's attorney, Timothy Jansen, has suggested Winston had consensual sex with the accuser and he expects the prosecutor will exonerate his client.

"If he looked at evidence we did, we feel confident he will find that Mr. Winston did nothing wrong," Jansen said.

Jansen is confident enough that he plans to have Winston briefly address the media at 3:30 p.m. Jansen said Thursday morning he still had not heard anything from prosecutors, which suggested it was unlikely any charges will be filed.

Patricia Carroll, the attorney representing the alleged victim, has not responded to requests for comment.

Winston, 19, has led the Seminoles to a No. 1 ranking and a shot at a national championship if they defeat Duke on Saturday. Winston's play at quarterback has also made him a leading contender for the Heisman Trophy.

Many voters are waiting to see whether Winston will be charged with a crime before casting their ballots. The deadline for ballots is Monday, and the trophy is awarded Dec. 14.

Florida State policy dictates that a student-athlete is suspended from game action if charged with a felony until the charge is resolved "absent extraordinary circumstances as determined by the administration."

Meggs has said he wanted to make sure prosecutors completed a thorough investigation before making a final decision. He has also said several times that prosecutors must determine whether there is a "reasonable" chance of conviction.

Meggs said Wednesday that the investigation results should answer some lingering questions about how the investigation was handled and why it took 11 months before prosecutors were notified.

"When you all look at this, when the dust all settles, you'll say, 'Man, there were some things that could have been done back in December of '12 that could have cleared this up a whole lot easier than November of 2013," he said.

The alleged sexual assault was first reported to police on Dec. 7, 2012. The family has said the victim did not know the identity of her attacker until early January, when she identified him as Winston. Police said last week that they tried to interview Winston in January but that Jansen at the time told them his client would not answer questions.

The 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. Carroll has denied that the woman wanted to drop the investigation.

The alleged victim was an FSU student, but she left school last month after Carroll was told by police that information about the case was about to be released to the media.

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Associated Press writer Kareem Copeland contributed to this story.

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