Florida State QB Jameis Winston Accused of Sexual Assault; Investigation Ongoing [UPDATE]

Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston is the darling of the NCAA this season. His stellar play combined with a dominant defense has the Seminoles ranked No. 2 in the nation and primed for a run at the title. However, if there was anything that could derail his popularity it would be this:

He has been accused of sexual assault and is under investigation by the Florida State Attorney and local police.

@HaleCoop/Twitter

TMZ has uncovered this story (shocker, right?). According to what the alleged victim told the Tallahassee Police, the incident occurred on December 7, 2012. She says that he used force in order to sexually assault her. Pictures and other evidence was collected, but you would think barring someone else in the apartment (if there was anyone else there) corroborating her story nothing will ever come from it.

It will be interesting to see if the school and/or Winston respond to these reports and the accusation. With the case going nowhere if they ignore it the story might just go away. Say the wrong thing and guilty or not his reputation may never recover.

Alcohol is said to have been involved.

Whenever it comes to cases of sexual assault folks tend to make their minds up pretty quick in spite of any evidence there may be.When it comes to a popular public figure like Winston many people are just looking for a reason to knock him off the pedestal he never asked them to put him on.

So remember--innocent till proven guilty.

[H/T TMZ]

[UPDATE, 7 PM ET, 11/13]

This came from a Florida State message board (the Rivals site Warchant.com):

We've got copy of the official police report from the incident, which allegedly took place on Dec. 7, 2012. Winston is not named anywhere in the report and the person described in the report was listed as between 5-foot-9 and 5-foot-11 and around 240 pounds. The report states that there were physical injuries to the victim and photos of those injuries. 

Winston is listed as 6'4" and 218 pounds on Yahoo!'s FSU page. 

So that info can be taken in one of two ways. Either TMZ is making this up since the description can't possibly be Winston, or the woman is a terrible judge of height and weight.

The difference between 6'4" and 5'11" is pretty big though. At the same time even though TMZ is all about rumors you'd think they wouldn't just randomly put someone's name on a report like this. I'm no lawyer, but that sounds like slander.

[UPDATE, 7:43 PM ET, 11/13]

The school has responded:

In Response To Media Inquiry

We are aware of a matter that was investigated by the Tallahassee Police Department almost a year ago. Because the investigation has not been closed by TPD, we cannot comment further at this time. We look forward to a speedy resolution of the issue. There is no change in Jameis Winston’s status. Coach Fisher and Jameis will be answering questions about football only until there is a resolution.

[H/T College Spun]

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