Jameis Winston Sexual Assault Case Timeline: With Decision Looming, READ Everything That Lead to This Point

William Meggs, Tallahassee's Florida State Attorney, has announced he will make his decision regarding the sexual assault case involving Jameis Winston.

Winston, the quarterback of the number-one-ranked Florida State Seminoles and leading Heisman candidate, will find out Thursday if he faces criminal charges for a reported sexual assault that took place nearly a year ago.

Timing has played a huge role in the whole case, as the story became public when Winston and the Seminoles were in the midst of what is now a perfect season. With a win against Duke in the ACC Championship, they will complete an undefeated season and most likely be included in the BCS National Championship game.

While we wait for Meggs' final decision, here is a timeline of the events that led to this point. Official details have not been released, so some of these events may be subject to change if/when new information becomes known.

Dec. 5, 2012: The alleged victim files a sexual assault complaint the same night of the incident. The incident took place at an off-campus apartment, so the FSU police had to hand the case over to the Tallahassee Police Department (TPD).

Jan. 2013: The alleged victim names Winston as her attacker, but the exact date of this event is unknown.

Feb. 2013: Tim Jansen, Winston's attorney, is informed his client was named in a sexual assault complaint. Jansen said he was lead to believe the case was closed when, in fact, it was left open and changed to inactive.

Nov. 6, 2013 (Wednesday): Matt Baker of the Tampa Bay Times gets a tip from a trusted source to look into TPD case No. 12-32758. After news broke, Baker told Deadspin.com he was the first reporter to begin asking questions about the case. He said neither his source nor the police implied Winston was the suspect. The reason he followed up on the tip, he said, was because he is a sports reporter and would not have paid it any mind if he found the suspect to be some random college kid.

However, Baker contacted the TPD at this time and received no response.

Nov. 8, 2013: A TPD spokesman finally answers Baker's call and tells the reporter to file a written request for the incident report on case No. 12-32758. Baker does so and gets no response over the weekend or on Monday.

Nov. 11-12, 2013 (Monday and Tuesday): Baker still does not hear back from the TPD. TMZ must have also gotten wind of the case, because a producer for the gossip site also sent an information request Monday.

Nov. 13, 2013: Baker sends a follow-up email for the incident report and, a few hours later, the TPD sent a mass email to several news outlets with a "press release" and a heavily redacted incident report. Although the police do not mention Winston, the story breaks with the FSU quarterback's name on TMZ's headline.

On this day, the TPD also hand the case over to Meggs' office for his ruling on how to proceed in the criminal investigation or if there is one at all.

Nov. 15, 2013: Deadspin's interview with Baker is released and questions surface as to why the TPD reactivated the case after news outlets began requesting the incident report.

Nov. 16, 2013: Meggs says his office has been interviewing witnesses already and a decision should take him two weeks tops. At this time, Winston's camp says the QB has not spoken to any law enforcement official at any point.

Nov. 19, 2013: the Tallahassee Democrat obtains emails from a city official to colleagues saying the alleged victim "changed her mind." The emails implicate the TPD stopped investigating because the complainant was not communicating.

Nov. 20, 2013: The family of the alleged victim releases a statement to the Tampa Bay Times through their attorney, speaking publically for the first time. Their statement says a TPD detective discouraged the alleged victim from pursuing charges because Tallahassee is a "big football town" and the media attention would be overwhelming. The statement calls into question the TPD's practices, especially how Jansen knew of the investigation when it was still active and before his client was even questioned.

That same day, ESPN said it had obtained a copy of DNA results taken from Winston that match a sample from the alleged victim's underwear the night of her reported incident. Jansen said the two had consensual sex that night and that the DNA results did not affect their defense strategy at all.

Nov. 27, 2013: Meggs says his decision will likely take more time than he anticipated. Jansen expresses concern that a "cloud" will hamper his client in the midst of a National Championship run and a Heisman race.

Dec. 5, 2013: Meggs announced a press conference, scheduled for 2 p.m., where he will announce his decision on the case.

Dec. 7, 2013: Florida State plays Duke for the ACC Championship just two days before Heisman voting begins. Winston will learn his fate before this game and, if charged with a felony, will not play in it. Playing in the game, and winning, will solidify his Heisman candidacy and FSU's hope of a National Championship bid.

Dec. 9, 2013: Heisman Trophy final votes are cast. This is important because if Winston is charged with a felony, FSU will rule him ineligible and his hopes for a Heisman will take a devastating hit.

Dec. 14, 2013: Heisman Trophy announcement.

Jan. 6, 2014: BCS National Championship game in Pasadena, Calif.'s Rose Bowl. FSU head football coach Jimbo Fisher says his team deserves to play in this game, even in the event Winston is ineligible. He likely does not have any insider information, but gave his team a public vote of confidence in light of the uncertainty.