The legal team for Terrence Shannon Jr., the NBA prospect who goes on trial next week on felony rape charges for an alleged incident at a bar in Lawrence, Kansas, will ask a judge to consider whether the Prosecutors have accused the wrong man in a hearing Friday morning that could prove a major breakthrough in the case.
In a new court filing Thursday, Shannon's attorneys asked a judge to admit video evidence showing another man, who had previously been accused of sexually assaulting another woman at the same bar two weeks earlier, standing near the alleged victim in the “exact” one. “place on the same night and time in September when she said Shannon had sexually assaulted her and penetrated her vagina with his fingers.
According to the file, police had investigated the “third defendant” for his alleged actions against the other woman, but the charges were later dropped.
“Terrence Shannon, by and through his attorneys Tricia A. Bath and Thomas J. Bath, Jr., and, pursuant to the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment and the confrontation and compulsory process provisions of the 6th Amendment, hereby requests this court's prior ruling on the admissibility of evidence relating to an identified third party defendant who allegedly committed a similar sexual assault at the same location less than two weeks prior to the alleged assault in Mr. .Shannon and who was present [as evidenced by video] within a couple of feet of the precise location of the alleged contact in the case in [the] bar,” the document states.
Shannon was arrested in December and temporarily removed from the Illinois men's basketball team before returning after missing six games and leading the team to the NCAA tournament. The woman at the bar who accused him of sexually assaulting her found the image of her through a Google search before contacting police after the alleged incident.
The new case file states that a police investigation showed that “no male DNA was found on vaginal or external genital swabs taken from the alleged victim on the date of the alleged incident and that no other male DNA was found on the thighs of the alleged victim.” alleged victim.” , buttocks or underwear could match Mr. Shannon.”
In the defense team's first attempt to obtain evidence that another man who had been standing near the alleged victim on the night of the alleged incident was admitted, a judge ruled the video was “unrestricted speculation.” However, a new judge will allow Shannon's legal team to present their case Friday morning.
Shannon is ranked 31st among NBA prospects, according to ESPN.com. Kansas star Hunter Dickinson and NBA prospect Kevin McCullar Jr. are expected to testify in Shannon's defense during his trial next week, according to court records.
