A woman has asked the Michigan attorney generalās office to investigate a Michigan State University menās basketball player for sexual assault.
According to ESPN, the woman turned to Michigan attorney general Dana Nessel after local prosecutors declined to file charges in her case against Michigan State sophomore Brock Washington. ESPN reported details of the case after obtaining a police report and emails from the Ingham County prosecutorās office.
Michigan State University police reportedly recommended charging Washington with first-degree criminal sexual conduct after interviewing Washington, the woman, the womanās roommate and an Uber driver who drove the woman home. MSU police told prosecutors that they had probable cause that Washington raped the woman on Jan. 19, as she was too intoxicated to consent.
University police referred the case to prosecutors, who declined to file charges, with Ingham County prosecutor Carol Siemon telling ESPN the case ādoes not meet the burden of proof that we must present to a jury.ā
The woman told ESPN that assistant prosecuting attorney Sarah Pulda told her she had been ātoo intoxicated to prove that it was forced.ā
āThat was the whole point of the charge, that I was too drunk to consent to what happened,ā the woman said. āThe prosecutor failed me completely. I have to take it into my own hands ā¦ and hopefully get justice in the long run.ā
According to ESPN, the police report says that Washington admitted that he had sexual contact with the woman, and acknowledged that she was incapacitated. Washington was suspended by Michigan State coach Tom Izzo in late January.
A Michigan State police spokesman said that the case file is being sent to the attorney generalās office for further investigation.
Peter Samouris, Washingtonās former attorney, spoke with Washington and his father last Friday, telling ESPN, āItās my understanding heās not going to be charged, and he doesnāt wish to speak. Heās maintained his innocence 100 percent of the time.ā
Washington was previously charged with misdemeanor assault in Ingham County on March 8, 2018, for an incident that was classified as āfourth-degree criminal sexual conduct.ā