Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault - and...no charges to be filed...

[IH8Orange]

Re: Wow! Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault

Didn't Winston outright deny having any contact with the alleged victim consensual or otherwise?

If he did deny any contact at all, then the DNA evidence is the nail in the coffin for his credibility at the least.

I really can't see how he won't be charged. If this had remained hidden and the media hadn't already sniffed out the identity of the victim, she might not have went forward with the case, but she's likely to be "put through the ringer" now anyway, so she's probably got nothing to lose by just going ahead and pursuing charges. If she's saying that she was sexually assaulted and they've got DNA evidence in her underwear from Winston that was collected immediately after the alleged assault, I don't know what other evidence would be required. I can't think of anything else within the bounds of reason that would be needed to pursue charges. If they say, "well, we'd really like to have video footage of the crime to be sure that an assault actually happened", then you'll know that home-cooking is in progress.

 

[IH8Orange]

Re: Wow! Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault

If they charge him, will the NCAA or FSU allow him to play?

-CLINT

If they charge him, then they'll have to arrest him and then he'll have to be granted bail. If he's granted bail, he may have conditions placed on his release such as not leaving the state of Florida and that would pretty much prevent him from playing in Pasadena. It might be possible for him to get a reprieve on such a condition, but if he was charged and FSU still played him, that seems like it would be a PR nightmare for them.

 

[CrimsonForce]

Re: Wow! Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault

If he did deny any contact at all, then the DNA evidence is the nail in the coffin for his credibility at the least.

I really can't see how he won't be charged. If this had remained hidden and the media hadn't already sniffed out the identity of the victim, she might not have went forward with the case, but she's likely to be "put through the ringer" now anyway, so she's probably got nothing to lose by just going ahead and pursuing charges. If she's saying that she was sexually assaulted and they've got DNA evidence in her underwear from Winston that was collected immediately after the alleged assault, I don't know what other evidence would be required. I can't think of anything else within the bounds of reason that would be needed to pursue charges. If they say, "well, we'd really like to have video footage of the crime to be sure that an assault actually happened", then you'll know that home-cooking is in progress.

Sounds like he will be charged, but his defense will be it was consensual. Then it becomes a he said she said, which makes either side tough to prove because both sides can come up with witnesses to support their client.

 

[mikes12]

Re: Wow! Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault

If they charge him, will the NCAA or FSU allow him to play?

-CLINT

My question is can they (NCAA) prohibit him from playing if he's not been found guilty? (I realize if there are charges he cannot leave the state, but what about games within Florida?)

I strongly doubt FSU would bench or suspend him and claim 'innocent until proven guilty in court', by which time the season would be long over.

 

[TideFan in AU]

Re: Wow! Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault

Sounds like he will be charged, but his defense will be it was consensual. Then it becomes a he said she said, which makes either side tough to prove because both sides can come up with witnesses to support their client.

The evidence of battery will play a huge role here. This was originally called sexual battery, and consensual sex rarely involves battery.

I'm like others, I'm withholding judgement until all the facts come out, but it isn't looking good for him right now. OTOH, with state of "reporting" these days, I never trust any report until there's something proving it...

 

[jthomas666]

Re: Wow! Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault

My question is can they (NCAA) prohibit him from playing if he's not been found guilty? (I realize if there are charges he cannot leave the state, but what about games within Florida?)

I strongly doubt FSU would bench or suspend him and claim 'innocent until proven guilty in court', by which time the season would be long over.

FSU university policy may come into play. At many schools, if you are indicted for a major felony, you are automatically suspended until the case has been resolved.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Re: Wow! Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault

Didn't Winston outright deny having any contact with the alleged victim consensual or otherwise?

I think he did initially. It would seem to me that the testimony of the roommate is going to be critical. Saying that the roommate witnessed it is almost conclusive that there is some substance and it's not consensual. Think about it. The roommate would be almost certain to be a hostile witness. If she were out for money or leverage, she would never name him. He has a huge burden, balancing testifying to the truth, if she's correct, or help provide cover for JW. I don't envy his position. I'd imagine he's having a dialog with his Maker. If the accuser's life would be made miserable, I don't want to think about his. I'll admit to a certain skepticism at first about this case. However, now, I think the family's out for their pound of flesh. This doesn't look good for JW at all. Sometimes, arrogance combined teenage hormones can be lethal for a player...

 

[TideMan09]

Re: Wow! Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault

I think he did initially. It would seem to me that the testimony of the roommate is going to be critical. Saying that the roommate witnessed it is almost conclusive that there is some substance and it's not consensual. Think about it. The roommate would be almost certain to be a hostile witness. If she were out for money or leverage, she would never name him. He has a huge burden, balancing testifying to the truth, if she's correct, or help provide cover for JW. I don't envy his position. I'd imagine he's having a dialog with his Maker. If the accuser's life would be made miserable, I don't want to think about his. I'll admit to a certain skepticism at first about this case. However, now, I think the family's out for their pound of flesh. This doesn't look good for JW at all. Sometimes, arrogance combined teenage hormones can be lethal for a player...

I agree 100% with ya about his roommate Earle..I love all my friends & would do anything I can to help them all if I can, but, I would never lie in a court of law & risk going to jail myself, by lying to cover his backside for him..Plus..If I saw a friend forcing himself on a Lady like that & she was saying no, I don't care who he is, I'm going to do all I can to help her to get out of the situation..If I couldn't do it physically, cause Jameis is a big boy, I'd call the law to get the Lady some help..I just couldn't turn a blind eye to something like that, no Lady deserves that to happen to her, it's jut not right, even if the guy is your friend & starting QB of you favorite college football team..Right is right & wrong is wrong..Shame on the friend if he did nothing to help the Lady..JMO

 

[TideMan09]

Re: Wow! Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault

This may be a stupid question & I apologize if it is..And just out of curiosity, if the friend was there, and witnessed the attack, and did nothing at all to help her, by calling the law to come & help her, can he be in trouble with the law for not helping he, cause he had to know it was wrong & what Jameis did was a crime..Wouldn't that kinda make him an accomplish even though he didn't do nothing physically to her????..

 

[CLINT]

Re: Wow! Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault

This may be a stupid question & I apologize if it is..And just out of curiosity, if the friend was there, and witnessed the attack, and did nothing at all to help her, by calling the law to come & help her, can he be in trouble with the law for not helping he, cause he had to know it was wrong & what Jameis did was a crime..Wouldn't that kinda make him an accomplish even though he didn't do nothing physically to her????..

Can we say the "Joe Paterno situation"?

-CLINT

 

[TideMan09]

Re: Wow! Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault

Can we say the "Joe Paterno situation"?

-CLINT

Yup..Unfortunately that's a fair example of humanities worst crime that can happen..Sickening..

 

[TideMan09]

Re: Wow! Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault

I just scanned the FSU Scout Football Forum, and some are saying Jameis is being counciled by a high price Lawyer from that area, and they're worried about how he can affored this Lawyer & think the NCAA will nail them for it..This getting to be a lot nastier every minute that passes..

 

[CLINT]

Re: Wow! Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault

Yup..Unfortunately that's a fair example of humanities worst crime that can happen..Sickening..

Of course we won't ever know what the punishment for him would have been as he died before trial

-CLINT

 

[TheRealPokeChop]

Re: Wow! Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault

This may be a stupid question & I apologize if it is..And just out of curiosity, if the friend was there, and witnessed the attack, and did nothing at all to help her, by calling the law to come & help her, can he be in trouble with the law for not helping he, cause he had to know it was wrong & what Jameis did was a crime..Wouldn't that kinda make him an accomplish even though he didn't do nothing physically to her????..

in a murder case there is what is called depraved indifference. But I don't know about in the case of rape. Accessory possibilities come to mind.

 

[Bad Pony]

Re: Wow! Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault

This may be a stupid question & I apologize if it is..And just out of curiosity, if the friend was there, and witnessed the attack, and did nothing at all to help her, by calling the law to come & help her, can he be in trouble with the law for not helping he, cause he had to know it was wrong & what Jameis did was a crime..Wouldn't that kinda make him an accomplish even though he didn't do nothing physically to her????..

The only Good Samaritan law in Florida I ran across was for medical emergency help i.e. CPR..I didn't see one that addressed assisting a crime victim although Earle could answer this much more accurately than my brief internet search came up with I'm sure...

 

[KrAzY3]

Re: Wow! Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault

I see a lot of posts on ESPN about it being consensual. How on earth would they know? It's that sort of thing that disgusts me. Clearly their allegiances lie with a football program over a potential rape victim. I don't know what happened (yet), and neither do they. You'd think Penn St. would have taught people a lesson, but in truth we see some of the same mistakes repeated here.

To recap, it seems like the victim went promptly to the authorities to report this. There is no indication that she waited, then later decided she didn't like Winston or something. From there, it's not really possible to tell right now which happened first, did the police try to intimidate her first and warn her about this, or did she waver first? It seems likely that she wavered after the police did the whole you don't want to stir things up routine.

The worst part of all this seems to me to be the involvement of the campus police. This didn't involve them at all and they had no jurisdiction. It just seems like another one of those cases that we've heard about, in which the coach and people close to the football program are involved, even if a legitimate criminal investigation wouldn't do that. This is how Hernandez was able to attack a guy in front of witnesses and not be charged. This is how Sandusky got away with it for so long.

None of that makes Winston guilty, and I'd say there is a high probability that he gets off regardless. He has a high priced lawyer (how he can afford that is a question the NCAA is unlikely to ask I suppose), and due to the case being so mismanaged the deck is stacked in his favor. I'm not inclined to like him very much right now based on what I've heard, but people want to condemn the potential victim. I suppose this will all hinge on more physical evidence. If there was more evidence, anything to indicate that she was harmed, then it becomes more than he said she said. But, as of right now it's she said, vs. FSU and all the power they wield (which in and of itself is something that bothers me).

 

[CoastGhost]

Re: Wow! Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault

FSU university policy may come into play. At many schools, if you are indicted for a major felony, you are automatically suspended until the case has been resolved.

I thought I read Florida athletic rules require immediate suspension if charged. I maybe mistaken ... so much has been posted and written and a lot of it contradicts other writings.

 

[JBama_in_PCOLA]

Re: Wow! Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault

Woke up to find DNA shows he flat out lied? Wow!


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[257WBY]

Re: Wow! Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault

These BCS things usually play themselves out, but WOW. Coker had knee surgery, so FSU could be down to their third QB. Will the voters still put them at #2 with this cloud?

 

[B1GTide]

Re: Wow! Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault

There are a number of posts and comments out there that suggest that the victim decided, under pressure, to drop charges. I don't think that this is true. The case was never closed as it would have been had she dropped the charges. It was only placed in an "inactive" state. Also, she and her family indicate that they have been waiting for months for the DNA results only to find out that the police had decided not to collect DNA from Winston, and they were very angry.

In other words, I don't think that their desire to see this prosecuted has wavered despite warnings. Now that they know just how far the police went to cover this up, they are very angry. One never knows how money might influence the victim (this victim is almost certainly going to get an offer to drop charges), but this one looks like it is going to court.