Illinois drops its examination into Shannon Jr

• Shwetha Surendran, ESPNApr 11, 2024, 05:51 PM ET Close Shwetha Surendran is author in ESPN’s investigative and business unit.The University

of Illinois has closed an internal examination into a sexual assault claims versus basketball player Terrence Shannon Jr.In a letter to Shannon dated April 5, Robert Wilczynski, the director of the Office for Student Dispute Resolution at Illinois, wrote that the school had insufficient proof to discover Shannon in offense of the trainee code. Wilczynski composed that the school’s private investigator did not have “access to the plaintiff, the plaintiff’s witness” which “the complete Lawrence Cops Department file was not offered to the investigator,” according to the letter.Editor’s Picks

1 Related Shannon was detained Dec. 28 in Lawrence, Kansas, and charged with rape, sexual relations without permission and usage of force. According to an authorities affidavit, a female informed authorities that Shannon digitally permeated her at a bar in Lawrence without her approval on Sept. 9.

Shannon’s attorney, Robert Lang, said Shannon “completely complied with the university’s investigation, and the university did as thorough of an examination as possible that spanned several weeks.” Legal representatives representing Shannon in his criminal case did not react to messages seeking comment.A spokesperson for the university declined to comment, citing federal privacy law that”avoids the University from sharing information about any specific case including student discipline.”The school’s letter kept in mind that” the matter might be reopened if new significant proof is brought to the attention of [the Workplace for Trainee Conflict Resolution] from any source.”Shannon also dropped a claim versus Illinois and its president, Timothy Killeen. Shannon had actually filed for an injunction in January, declaring the school made a” rush to judgment”and utilized an”unjust”process when it chose to indefinitely suspend him from all group activities after his arrest in December. Shannon eventually was permitted to rejoin the team when a federal judge gave his ask for a short-term restraining order in January.The university’s April 5 letter was filed as an exhibition to Shannon’s notification to willingly dismiss the lawsuit.

Shannon dismissed the case without prejudice, indicating he can refile it if necessary, Lang said.Shannon, a senior guard, balanced 25.4 points in the Illini men’s basketball go to the Elite 8 at the NCAA competition, where they eventually fell to UConn. He is expected to state for the 2024 NBA draft in June and posted a note to his social networks Wednesday thanking the fans and personnel at Illinois and Texas Tech, where he previously played. “I wish to thank Illini nation for their steady support throughout my 2 years here. The personnel and the fans have actually really made this experience memorable!”Shannon wrote.The criminal case against Shannon in Kansas is ongoing, and an initial hearing is set up for Might 10 at the Douglas County District Court. A representative for the Lawrence authorities said in an email that”it would not be proper for us to hypothesize or comment on any [University of Illinois] procedures”due to the pending criminal case.