Ex-Illinois star Shannon deals with felony rape trial

• Myron Medcalf, ESPN

  • Staff WriterMay 10, 2024, 03:53 PM ET Close Covers college basketball
  • Joined ESPN.com in 2011
  • Graduate of Minnesota State University, Mankato

Former Illinois star Terrence Shannon Jr. will stand trial on first-degree felony rape and felony sexual worsened battery charges June 10, a Kansas judge ruled at his initial hearing Friday.Shannon was arraigned and pleaded innocent before a judge ruled there was probable cause for trial to proceed in his case.Last year, a lady accused Shannon of sexually permeating her with his fingers at a bar in Lawrence, Kansas, on Sept. 9. The lady discovered Shannon’s image through a Google search and informed local authorities he was the opponent. Shannon was arrested and charged with “unlawfully, feloniously, and purposefully [engaging] in sexual intercourse with a person … who did not grant the sexual relations under scenarios when she was overcome by force or fear, a seriousness level 1 individual felony.”In December, he was suspended indefinitely by Illinois and missed out on 6 games, but he was granted

a momentary restraining order by a federal judge and went back to the team Jan. 21. He played the remainder of the season and led the team to the Elite Eight. In April, the university dropped its examination of Shannon.Editor’s Picks Shannon, per his lawyers, is anticipated to finish his trial– if the June 10 date remains– before the NBA draft, June 26-27. Before his legal case, he was a projected first-round pick.Before Shannon’s

preliminary hearing, his attorneys asked for that the DNA proof in the event not be acceptable in the trial.In a declaration on Friday, Shannon

‘s legal team said the judge’s ruling has no bearing on his guilt or innocence in the case. “Our legal group is neither shocked nor dissatisfied by the result of this event,”Mark Sutter, among Shannon’s lawyers, stated in a declaration.”A preliminary hearing is a procedural procedure that simply talks to the threshold of evidence and whether a concern of reality may exist for a jury. It has nothing to do with regret or innocence. Those issues will be decided at trial, and we continue to eagerly anticipate our day in court.”