Jameis Winston Sexual Assault Investigation UPDATE: Attorney Tim Jansen Critical of State Attorney's Public Commenting on Seminoles' QB
ByTim Jansen, the attorney representing Jameis Winston, is not pleased with the state attorney's public comments on the Florida State quarterback's alleged involvement in a sexual assault investigation.
According to the Associated Press, Jansen released a statement Sunday that was critical of William Meggs, the state attorney for the Second Circuit Court in Tallahassee, Fla. Jansen accused Meggs of making "extrajudicial statements" about the investigation that inferred witnesses had been affected by "attorneys and collusion."
"We respect the immense power Mr. Meggs has in his investigative process and pray that he will objectively analyze the facts as he finds them, refrain from further extrajudicial public comment, and take all necessary steps to ensure that this matter comes to a quick resolution," Jansen said. "We are confident that if those steps are taken, this cloud will be lifted and Mr. Winston will be full exonerated of any wrongdoing."
Jansen said Meggs' comments were too revealing about an ongoing confidential law enforcement investigation.
Meggs told the AP, "I'm not going to respond to [Jansen]."
Winston is leading the Florida State Seminoles to what could be a BCS National Championship game against Alabama. Florida State currently is ranked second and Alabama first.
In the midst of what is also a run at the Heisman Trophy, Winston's name was implicated in a report by TMZ as the suspect of a police sexual assault investigation. Several news outlets requested the police report after the Tallahassee Police Department handed the case over to the state attorney's office.
The police report was heavily redacted to protect the identities of the victim and the suspect. The incident occurred in Oct. 2012 and was reported that Dec. The victim named Winston as her attacker a month after reporting the alleged assault to the campus police.
In the 11 months since the police report was filed, law enforcement has reportedly not reached out to Winston even once, according to Jansen.
Meggs acknowledged he could not force Winston to speak with his investigators and nor did he expect the young student-athlete to do so. Meggs said he plans to request interviews with Winston and the accuser, who is no longer living in Fla. Meggs also said last week that Winston's role in the matter would likely be determined within two weeks, putting that timeline roughly at the end of the college football regular season.
The original incident report was handed from campus police to the TPD because the incident occurred off-campus. When it was given to Meggs' office, he said it was the first time he was made aware of the investigation.
"I have not been focusing on that," Meggs said when asked about the amount of time before he received the case. "I will deal with that at some later time. Right now the important thing is protecting the rights of this victim and that's what we're focusing on... We'll focus on placing blame once we get all the facts."