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Myron Medcalf, ESPN staff writer
Former Illinois star Terrence Shannon Jr. will stand trial on June 10 on first-degree felony rape and sexually aggravated battery charges, a Kansas judge ruled at his preliminary hearing Friday.
Shannon was charged and pleaded not guilty before a judge ruled there was probable cause to proceed to trial in his case.
Last year, a woman accused Shannon of sexually assaulting her with her fingers on September 9 at a bar in Lawrence, Kansas. The woman found Shannon’s photo through a Google search and told local police she was the assailant Shannon was arrested and charged with “unlawfully, feloniously, and knowingly (engaging) in sexual intercourse with a person … who did not consent to the sexual intercourse under circumstances where he was overcome by force or fear, a severity level 1 person crime”
In December, Shannon was suspended indefinitely by Illinois and missed six games, but a federal judge granted him a temporary ban and returned to the team on January 21. He played the rest of the season and led the team to the Elite Eight. . In April, the university dropped Shannon’s investigation.
Shannon, according to his attorneys, is expected to finish his trial — if the June 10 date remains — before the June 26-27 NBA draft. Before his legal case, he was a projected first round pick.
Before Shannon’s preliminary hearing, his attorneys requested that DNA evidence in the case be inadmissible at trial.
In a statement Friday, Shannon’s legal team said the judge’s ruling had no bearing on his guilt or innocence in the case.
“Our legal team is neither shocked nor disappointed by the outcome of this event,” Mark Sutter, an attorney for Shannon, said in a statement. “The preliminary hearing is a procedural process that only speaks to the threshold of evidence and whether there may be a question of fact for a jury. It has nothing to do with guilt or innocence. Those issues will be decided at trial, and we’re moving on. We look forward to our day in court. Do.”
