- A woman accused Terrence Shannon Jr. of rape after an incident in September
- A judge has ruled that he will be tried for felony first-degree rape next month.
- DailyMail.com provides the latest international sports news.
Former Illinois basketball star Terrence Shannon Jr. will be tried for felony first-degree rape and felony aggravated sexual assault next month, a Kansas judge ruled Friday.
The decision was made at Shannon’s preliminary hearing in Douglas County, Kansas. Judge Sally Pokorny ruled there was probable cause for the case to go to trial, which is set to begin June 10.
“Our legal team is neither surprised 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 simply speaks to the threshold of evidence and whether an issue 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.”
Terrence Shannon Jr. appears in court Friday at his pretrial hearing in Lawrence, Kansas.
Shannon Jr. was initially suspended by Illinois, but returned to play for them in March Madness.
A woman accused Shannon of sexually penetrating her with his fingers at a bar in Lawrence, Kansas, on September 9.
The woman identified Shannon through photographs she saw online and informed police that he was her attacker. Shannon was arrested and charged in the case.
After an order was issued in late December, Illinois suspended Shannon indefinitely. He missed six games before a federal judge issued a restraining order allowing him to return to the Illini.
Shannon Jr. was charged with rape after an incident with a woman at a bar in September
Some expect him to be chosen in the first round of the NBA Draft in late June.
Shannon stood out for Illinois with a 23.0 scoring average in 32 games (31 starts) this season. He led the team in scoring and three-pointers made (77).
Shannon led Illinois to the Elite Eight of March Madness before losing to eventual national champion UConn.
The university dropped its investigation into Shannon in April.
Shannon is hoping to be selected in the NBA Draft, scheduled for June 26-27. Some draft entities have projected him as a lottery pick.