A new report from Fox Sports suggests that Tallahassee police and Florida State University officials tried to hide and then hamper the Jameis Winston’ sexual assault investigation.
Here are some of the findings from the damning Fox Sports investigation.
The university’s police chief obtained original police reports as well as supplemental reports from Tallahassee police on Nov. 8, 2013, at least four days before the case was turned over to Meggs (Florida’s state attorney), the local prosecutor responsible for investigating serious crimes and filing criminal charges.
The university’s police chief forwarded the reports to a high-ranking administrator in the Florida State athletic department, and within days they ultimately wound up in the hands of Winston’s defense attorney — also before Meggs was notified of the case and launched his own investigation.
Two critical witnesses — Florida State football players who said they were present the morning of the alleged assault — discussed the case with Winston’s lawyer and ultimately signed affidavits at his behest backing the quarterback’s version of the incident. That happened before law enforcement officers tried to talk to them about what they saw and remembered, a dramatic road block in the state attorney’s effort to determine whether Winston should be charged with rape.
That same high-ranking administrator in the athletic department sought information from the university’s police chief about a reporter seeking the reports on the allegations against Winston.
The second-highest ranking officer in the campus police department ran interference with another reporter seeking information about the allegations, terming them a “rumor” that he was glad he could “dispel.”
As the Fox Sports report indicates, this new information comes as Florida State is being investigated by the feds due to its handling of the rape allegations against Winston that dates back to December of 2012.
This new report could have a major impact on Florida State moving forward. It shows corruption from university officials and local law enforcement. Corruption that might very well have led to a massive cover up from both parties.
If corroborated by federal investigators, you can believe that this will lead to a scandal of epic proportions for both local law enforcement officials and Florida State University.
You can read the entire report from Fox Sports here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf4aBdH8zBk
Photo: USA Today