LEXINGTON, Ky. - Lexington police said Wednesday that they are dropping an investigation into an alleged rape at Wildcat Lodge unless more information surfaces.
The woman who made the rape allegation last month has decided not to participate in the investigation, assistant chief Ken Hall said during a heavily attended news conference at police headquarters. Hall also said police were not able to verify some of the allegations made in the 29-year-old woman's complaint.
Hall said the case was dropped "by exception," meaning it may be reviewed later. But Hall added that it was rare for an investigation to resume on a case cleared by exception.
"We have investigated to the point that we don't feel we can go forward," Hall said.
Hall said the woman's attorney contacted police on Monday to inform them that she didn't want to proceed with the investigation.
Wildcat Lodge is best known as the home of University of Kentucky basketball players, though non-athletes live there as well. The complaint, filed April 22, noted the time of the alleged incident as between 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. on April 20.
Hall said police located no witnesses of the alleged incident. According to the university, 28 people live in Wildcat Lodge - 16 basketball players, 10 non-athletes and two staff members. All guests must be signed in and signed out.
Police have named neither the person who filed the complaint nor the suspect.
A former player, Chuck Hayes, had been questioned by police, Hayes' agent, Bill Duffy, said Saturday. But Wednesday, Hall said Hayes never was interviewed by police.
Reached Wednesday, Duffy declined to clear up the discrepancy, referring questions to Hayes' attorney, Jim Lowry of Lexington. Lowry did not immediately return a phone message left at his office Wednesday afternoon.
University officials, who have said little about the police investigation, issued a statement through the school's sports information office Wednesday, shortly after the police news conference began.
"We are pleased that no charges will be filed in this case and appreciate the thoroughness of the Lexington Police Department's investigation," Athletics Department spokesman Scott Stricklin said.
"It's unfortunate that a student's personal life was publicly scrutinized before the facts were determined, but we're hopeful that everyone involved can now move forward in a positive way."
Hayes, from Modesto, Calif., finished his four-season career with the Wildcats in March and was named the Southeastern Conference's defensive player of the year. He was one of the more popular players in recent Kentucky basketball history.
Duffy said he didn't think Hayes' potential stock for the upcoming NBA draft had been adversely affected by the police investigation.
Hayes is scheduled to graduate Sunday with a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Lexington police said Wednesday that they are dropping an> investigation into an alleged rape at Wildcat Lodge unless more > information> surfaces.>
The woman who made the rape allegation last month has decided not to> participate in the investigation, assistant chief Ken Hall said during a> heavily attended news conference at police headquarters. Hall also said> police were not able to verify some of the allegations made in the> 29-year-old woman's complaint.>
And this is what police should do. Unlike in the Kobe Bryant case, where when they became aware that Kate Faber had lied about key details of her complaint, they tried to cover it all up for a year before dropping charges.
I notice that UK fans had nary a word to say about this story when> it first came out, though -- only now. They also haven't had anything> to say about the NCAA violation regarding Wildcat Lodge.
The UK fans discussed this at length in the UK newsgroup.
NCAA violation? Coming from a Duke fan who's coach gets paid to recruit on TV?
