State attorney: Not nearly enough to pursue charges against Florida players
Florida's state attorney reviewed the sexual assault allegations against Antonio Callaway and Treon Harris
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1 min read
Florida state attorney William Cervone, after consulting with university police, did not believe there was enough evidence to pursue criminal charges against Antonio Callaway and Treon Harris after it was alleged by a UF student that the two had committed sexual assault.
The woman accusing two Florida football players of sexual assault skipped her Title IX hearing on Friday, boycotting the proceedings along with her parents and five witnesses because the school chose a Gators booster to adjudicate the case.
The alleged incident, which resulted in sexual assault accusations for Callaway and Harris, was reported to the school's student conduct and conflict resolution office but apparently not to the university or Gainesville police. The accuser's boycott came with a sternly worded letter from her attorney, John Clune, and a review of the case's details.
ESPN's Mark Schlabach spoke with Cervone, who indicated that the facts of the accuser's case were lacking substantial enough evidence to pursue any such state charges against the players.
"I had a conversation with officers at the university to see whether it was going to come this way," Cervone told ESPN. "Based on what I knew then, I didn't think there was even a remote possibility of criminal charges. It would have been totally un-prosecutable based on the facts given to me. It would have never risen to sexual assault or sexual battery."
According to Schlabach, Callaway's hearing went on without the accuser and "a decision is expected in the near future."
Both Callaway and Harris were suspended in January for violating the school's code of conduct policy. Harris has since announced his decision to transfer from Florida and has been released from his scholarship. Callaway returned to team workouts and on-campus classes in UF's Summer B semester and was present for the first day of fall practice on Thursday.
