Ex-Illinois star Terrence Shannon Jr. faces felony rape trial

Former Illinois star Terrence Shannon Jr. will stand trial on first-degree felony rape and felony sexual aggravated battery costs June 10, a Kansas choose dominated at his preliminary listening to Friday.

Shannon was arraigned and pleaded not responsible earlier than a choose dominated there was possible trigger for trial to proceed in his case.

Final yr, a lady accused Shannon of sexually penetrating her along with his fingers at a bar in Lawrence, Kansas, on Sept. 9. The lady discovered Shannon’s image by means of a Google search and instructed native police he was the assailant. Shannon was arrested and charged with “unlawfully, feloniously, and knowingly [engaging] in sexual activity with an individual … who didn’t consent to the sexual activity beneath circumstances when she was overcome by pressure or worry, a severity degree 1 individual felony.”

In December, Shannon was suspended indefinitely by Illinois and missed six video games, however he was granted a short lived restraining order by a federal choose and returned to the crew Jan. 21. He performed the remainder of the season and led the crew to the Elite Eight. In April, the college dropped its investigation of Shannon.

Shannon, per his attorneys, is anticipated to finish his trial — if the June 10 date stays — earlier than the NBA draft June 26-27. Earlier than his authorized case, he was a projected first-round choose.

Earlier than Shannon’s preliminary listening to, his attorneys requested that the DNA proof within the case not be admissible within the trial.

In an announcement Friday, Shannon’s authorized crew mentioned the choose’s ruling has no bearing on his guilt or innocence within the case.

“Our authorized crew is neither shocked nor disenchanted by the result of this occasion,” Mark Sutter, considered one of Shannon’s attorneys, mentioned in an announcement. “A preliminary listening to is a procedural course of that merely speaks to the edge of proof and whether or not a query of reality could exist for a jury. It has nothing to do with guilt or innocence. These points can be determined at trial, and we proceed to look ahead to our day in court docket.”