Illinois basketball guard Terrence Shannon Jr. suspended, charged with rape in Kansas

Illinois suspended basketball guard Terrence Shannon Jr. after he was charged with rape in Douglas County, Kansas, the school announced Thursday.

The suspension is from all team activities and is effective immediately.

Shannon was charged for an alleged rape on Sept. 8. At that time, the Illinois football team had traveled to play Kansas in Lawrence, where Douglas County is located. The athletics department said Shannon was not in Kansas on official school business and wasn't a member of the university's travel party.

An arrest warrant was issued for Shannon on Wednesday and he traveled to Kansas and posted bail before returning to Illinois. A call to the Douglas County Sheriff's Department by USA TODAY Sports was not immediately returned.

“We have zero tolerance for sexual misconduct,” Illinois athletics director Josh Whitman said. “At the same time, [athletics department] policy affords student-athletes appropriate levels of due process based on the nature and severity of the allegations. We will rely on that policy and our prior experiences to manage this situation appropriately for the University and the involved parties.”

The school said it had known of an investigation of Shannon since September, but did not have “actionable information” until Wednesday. That triggered the suspension as a violation of the school's and division of intercollegiate athletics' student-athlete misconduct policy.

Shannon, who spent his first three seasons at Texas Tech, is second in the Big Ten in scoring and is averaging 21.7 points per game for Illinois (9-2).