LAWRENCE, Kan. (WAND) — A Kansas judge has ruled there is enough probable cause for Terrence Shannon Jr.'s case to go to trial.
Shannon is accused of an alleged rape that would have occurred when he traveled to Lawrence for the Illinois vs Kansas football game as a spectator on September 8, 2023. He was temporarily suspended from the team during the initial investigation.
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Shannon is appearing in Douglas County, Kan. court Friday for his preliminary hearing before Judge Sally Pokorny. WAND Sports' Jake Bedell was in the courtroom on Friday for full trial coverage.
Shannon said he did not touch the girl involved and did not previously know her. However, with the details presented, Judge Pokorny said force may not have been implied in the situation, and the alleged victim may have never had a chance to react given the circumstances.
The alleged victim said she did not know who Shannon was when the incident happened but thought he might be an athlete. She said she searched the rosters of each team before she recognized Shannon as the one who allegedly assaulted her. She said his hair was one way she identified him from the roster.
Shannon's lawyer Mark Sutter sent WAND News a statement saying, "Our legal team is neither shocked nor disappointed by the outcome of this event. A preliminary hearing is a procedural process that merely speaks to the threshold of evidence and whether a question of fact may exist for a jury. It has nothing to do with guilt or innocence. Those issues will be decided at trial, and we continue to look forward to our day in court."
A three-day trial is set for June 10. Shannon entered a plea of not guilty.
If proven not guilty, it gives Shannon the possibility to still go to the NBA.
Last week, Shannon’s lawyers filed a motion to exclude the state's DNA testing in the criminal case.
The Deputy District Attorney for Douglas County, Kansas then requested a hearing to determine whether the expert testimony brought by Terrence Shannon Jr.'s legal team is admissible in court.
The hearing would specifically focus on whether the testimony of forensic expert Stephanie Beine.
Illinois' Terrence Shannon Jr. passes during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Missouri Friday, Dec. 22, 2023, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
A Kansas statute states, "“If a witness is testifying as an expert, upon motion of a party, the court may hold a pretrial hearing to determine whether the witness qualifies as an expert and whether the witness's testimony satisfies the requirements of subsection (b) of K.S.A. 60-456.”
Beine was employed as an expert by Shannon's team to review DNA evidence collected by the state. Last week, Mark P. Sutter of the Sutter Law Group gave WAND News this statement regarding the testimony.
"Ms. Stephanie Beine is a senior forensic scientist and a renowned expert in her field. Our legal team filed this Motion based on her review of the raw data and her scientific conclusions relative to the DNA evidence in this case."
WAND News has a team following Shannon's case and will bring you updates.
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