Florida State Seminoles quarterback Jameis Winston has been cleared of violating the school’s student conduct code, in a case that was initiated due to the sexual assault allegations against him that originated over two years ago. The allegations have loomed large over Winston during his college career.
Major Harding, a former Florida Supreme Court justice, oversaw the school’s hearing process and sent a letter today to Winston’s attorney. “The preponderance of evidence has not shown that you are responsible for any of the charged violations of the code,” the letter read. “Namely, I find that the evidence before me is insufficient to satisfy the burden of proof.”
The case was the result of sexual assault allegations made in 2012 against Winston by a female student. The state attorney’s office had already declined to file any criminal charges against Winston, amid conflicting evidence reports from Florida State campus police and the Tallahassee Police Department.
The school conduct hearing, which was held on December 7th of this year; after multiple postponements, lasted three days. During the process, Winston repeatedly declined to answer questions from Justice Harding or the woman’s attorney, choosing instead to read a prepared statement. Other alleged witnesses to the event also refused to answer questions when called to testify at the hearing.
The accuser was given until January 13th, 2015 to file an appeal of the decision with a state appellate committee.
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