Former Illinois standout and NBA draft prospect Terrence Shannon Jr. was found not guilty on felony charges of rape and aggravated sexual battery on Thursday.
A jury in Douglas County, Kansas, rendered the verdict after less than two hours of deliberations.
Shannon’s trial began Monday, and his lawyers have contended that it was a case of mistaken identity — that another man, not their client, might have raped a woman last September in Lawrence, Kan.
The defense team was allowed to use video evidence to support their claim. The judge in the case said the man in the video, a “third-part defendant,” was accused of sexually touching another woman at the same bar two weeks earlier.
Shannon was charged in December and the university suspended him from basketball activities. After he missed six games, Shannon won his reinstatement via a temporary restraining order, having argued that he should be allowed to continue playing while awaiting the outcome of his case due to the presumption of innocence.
“It takes tremendous courage for a survivor of sexual assault to come forward,” the Douglas County District Attorney’s office said in a statement. “We will continue to pursue justice on behalf of survivors.”
Shannon, 23, could be selected in the NBA Draft later this month. He averaged 23 points in 32 games (31 starts) for Illinois this season and led the Fighting Illini to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, where they lost to eventual national champion UConn.
In 2022-23, Shannon scored 17.2 points per game with 4.6 rebounds per game for a team that went 20-13 (11-9 Big Ten).
Prior to his Illinois career, Shannon played three seasons at Texas Tech, averaging 11 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.
–Field Level Media