Florida State defends how it handled Winston case

By KAREEM COPELAND

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida State University released a document Friday morning defending itself in the handling of the sexual assault investigation of quarterback Jameis Winston, detailing its own timeline of events.

The university said in a statement it was publicly releasing the series of events that have transpired since the incident in December 2012 because of "misinformation in the media." The university did not name Winston in the release, but referred to allegations against "a prominent athlete."

Florida State said the only people aware of the incident were Tallahassee police, campus police and the Victims Advocate Program before Jan. 2013. The decision not to seek charges was made after Winston's lawyer said the Tallahassee Police Department was "no longer pursuing the case" and Winston and his roommates said the sex was consensual.

The release states the woman was not made available for an interview with the school until Aug. 6, 2014. The woman's lawyers have maintained that she was willing to talk throughout the process.

The university said its Title IX officials did not become aware of the incident until Nov. 2013, when contacted by the Tallahassee Police Department. The police turned the case over to State Attorney Willie Meggs in Nov. 2013. He announced he would not press charges in Dec. 2013 due to inconsistencies and flaws in the evidence and in the woman's memory.

The Associated Press does not identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault.

Winston's legal adviser David Cornwell was not immediately unavailable for comment.

Blaine P. Kerr, one of the woman's attorneys, released a statement on behalf of his client Friday in response to Florida State's actions. He said there is a story about to break in the case and that the university "is trying to do a little preventative damage control."

"The obvious news in its statement is that senior athletic department officials met with Winston and his lawyer one month after the rape occurred then decided to hide it from the Title IX office," Kerr said. "The statement's timeline is full of errors but it shows that we can add both FERPA and the victim-advocate privilege to the list of laws Florida State is willing to break to protect this football program. What else can the school do wrong in this mess?

"The whole country is moving toward improving the response to campus rape reports while Florida State backpedals the other way."

The university release also states that Florida State began a Title IX investigation in Dec. 2013, but the woman's lawyer asked officials to "cease all contact with her client." The woman was being represented by Patricia Carroll at the time. It states that Winston met with the Title IX office on Jan. 23, 2014, but he declined to give a statement.

Florida State said in the release that there was insufficient evidence to file charges and ended the investigation with neither party cooperating. The investigation, however, could be revisited at a later date.