Former Illinois basketball player Terrence Shannon Jr. to face trial on rape charge
Former Illinois basketball star Terrence Shannon Jr. will stand trial on first-degree felony rape and felony sexual aggravated battery charges on June 10, a Kansas judge ruled in a preliminary hearing on Friday, according to a report from ESPN.
Shannon was arraigned Friday and pleaded not guilty before a judge, who ruled there was probable cause for a trial to proceed in his case. A woman accused Shannon of sexually penetrating her in September, which resulted from an incident that occurred when Shannon visited Lawrence, Kansas, for an Illinois football game. The woman reportedly identified Shannon's picture through a Google search and informed police, leading to Shannon's subsequent arrest.
In December Shannon was suspended indefinitely by Illinois and missed six games after he was charged with "unlawfully, feloniously, and knowingly [engaging] in sexual intercourse with a person ... who did not consent to the sexual intercourse under circumstances when she was overcome by force or fear, a severity level 1 person felony."
Shannon was allowed to return to the team after he received a temporary restraining order from a federal judge, returning to play on Jan. 21. The Fighting Illini made a run, led by Shannon, to the Elite Eight.
If the June 10 court date remains in place, Shannon is expected to finish his trial ahead of the NBA Draft, which is scheduled for June 26-27.
Shannon's legal team released a statement on Friday to ESPN, which stated that the judge's ruling does not affect his guilt or innocence in the case.
"Our legal team is neither shocked nor disappointed by the outcome of this event," Mark Sutter, one of Shannon's attorneys said in a statement. "A preliminary hearing is a procedural process that merely speaks to the threshold of evidence and whether a question of fact may exist for a jury. It has nothing to do with guilt or innocence. Those issues will be decided at trial, and we continue to look forward to our day in court."
