Report: Charges unlikely for 49ers' McDonald

By: Dan Mennella

Prosecutors in Santa Clara, Calif., are unlikely to press charges against 49ers defensive lineman Ray McDonald after he was arrested on suspicion of assaulting his pregnant girlfriend in August, according to Tracey Kaplan of the San Jose Mercury News.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office was to announce the decision soon and release a report laying out the reasons behind the decision, a source said, which authorities have done in the past in cases involving 49ers players, Kaplan reported.

McDonald was arrested on suspicion of felony domestic abuse on Aug. 31 after his alleged involvement in an altercation with his girlfriend, who was 10 weeks pregnant, at a birthday party at his home. Police arrested McDonald after seeing minor bruises on the woman's neck and arms, Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee reported.

The investigation into the alleged incident has been complicated by the involvement of a San Jose Police officer who was reportedly moonlighting in a security role for McDonald. The officer was summoned to McDonald's house while off-duty at or around the time of the alleged incident, ABC7News.com reported. San Jose Police have since suspended the practice.

The 49ers have allowed McDonald to play throughout the investigation, opting not to place him on the exempt list, as the Vikings did with Adrian Peterson and the Panthers did with Greg Hardy amid their respective criminal cases. In September, 49ers CEO Jed York said the team would let "due process take its course." McDonald appeared in each of the 49ers' first seven regular-season games.