Current:Home > StocksFormer Illinois men's basketball star Terrence Shannon Jr. found not guilty in rape trial-LoTradeCoin
Former Illinois men's basketball star Terrence Shannon Jr. found not guilty in rape trial
View Date:2024-12-23 20:19:52
Terrence Shannon Jr. was found not guilty in his rape trial Thursday.
The former Illinois men's basketball star faced charges for rape and aggravated sexual battery in a Kansas courtroom, based on allegations made by an 18-year-old woman at a bar near the University of Kansas campus in September.
A jury found him not guilty on both counts after deliberating for 90 minutes on Thursday.
Shannon took the stand Thursday while family members looked on. He vehemently denied the allegations, which came from an incident during a trip he had made to watch an Illinois-Kansas football game last fall.
"I never touched, grabbed, pulled over. … That did not happen,” Shannon told the jury, according to published reports.
The 6-foot-6, 225-pound Chicago native is projected to be a first-round pick in the upcoming 2024 NBA Draft.
The Illini suspended him from Dec. 27 through Jan. 19 when the allegations surfaced, during which he missed six games.
Shannon was reinstated after a court ruling and went on to lead the team in scoring, ranking second in the Big Ten and third in the NCAA at 23 points per game. He was named first team All-Big Ten by the coaches, media and The Associated Press. He was chosen second team All-America by 247Sports and CBS Sports, third team All-America by the AP, and honorable mention All-America by the USBWA.
The prosecution's closing arguments referred to the 18-year-old woman as a typical student from a junior college who went with her friend to a bar, despite liking neither crowds nor drinking, because it’s what college students do. They referred to the other student — Shannon — as a star college athlete who "Might as well be the king of the University of Illinois. When he wants something, he gets it."
Shannon's defense attorney told the jury the case was a travesty, saying science mandates that the Illini player was not responsible for any crime and that police have made no effort to find who was.
The woman described a tall man at the bar who put his hand under her skirt and violated her. The woman said she left the bar and went home to search online the Kansas and Illinois football and basketball rosters. She identified Shannon from that process.
Swabs taken from the woman were tested, and forensic scientists said no male DNA was present.
Among things presented in court was a December group message thread purportedly involving the woman and her roommates.
A link to an ESPN report on Shannon’s suspension from the Illini men's basketball team following the rape charge was shared in the group chat, which also included a message from someone in the group that read "Got his ass," followed by two face emojis with dollar signs for eyes.
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or [email protected]. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
veryGood! (88373)
Related
- A herniated disc is painful, debilitating. How to get relief.
- Officials describe how gunman killed 5 relatives and set Pennsylvania house on fire
- Lynette Woodard wants NCAA to 'respect the history' of AIAW as Caitlin Clark nears record
- Netflix replaces Bobby Berk with Jeremiah Brent for 9th season of 'Queer Eye'
- 'Unfortunate error': 'Wicked' dolls with porn site on packaging pulled from Target, Amazon
- Out to see a Hawaiian sunrise, he drove his rental off a cliff and got rescued from the ocean
- US asylum restriction aimed at limiting claims has little impact given strained border budget
- Texas wildfire becomes second-largest in state history, burning 500,000 acres
- Volkswagen, Mazda, Honda, BMW, Porsche among 304k vehicles recalled: Check car recalls here
- Taylor Swift adds extra Eras Tour show to Madrid, Spain
Ranking
- Knicks Player Ogugua Anunoby Nearly Crashes Into Anne Hathaway and Her Son During NBA Game
- Pink's 12-year-old daughter Willow debuts shaved head
- Texas wildfire becomes second-largest in state history, burning 500,000 acres
- Schumer describes intense White House meeting with Johnson under pressure over Ukraine aid
- Indiana man is found guilty of murder in the 2017 killings of 2 teenage girls
- Olympic gymnastics champ Suni Lee will have to wait to get new skill named after her
- Sony to lay off 900 PlayStation employees, 8% of its global workforce
- EAGLEEYE COIN: Senator proposes raising starting point for third-party payment networks
Recommendation
-
What Republicans are saying about Matt Gaetz’s nomination for attorney general
-
Beyoncé's country music is causing a surge in cowboy fashion, according to global searches
-
Caitlin Clark, Iowa look for revenge, another scoring record: Five women's games to watch
-
Philadelphia Orchestra’s home renamed Marian Anderson Hall as Verizon name comes off
-
Democrat Ruben Gallego wins Arizona US Senate race against Republican Kari Lake
-
Sweden clears final hurdle to join NATO as Hungary approves bid
-
More than 330,000 Jeep Grand Cherokees are recalled to fix steering wheel issue
-
Ned Blackhawk’s ‘The Rediscovery of America’ is a nominee for $10,000 history prize