Reports in the sexual assault case involving Raiders newly signed first round pick Gareon Conley have been few and far between. Conley met with Cleveland Police the Monday (May 1st) following the NFL Draft. That was a little over 12 weeks ago.
Now, according Fox8 Cleveland, the case will be going to a grand jury.
Investigation wrapping up into sex assault claim in Cleveland against former Ohio State football star Gareon Conley
— Ed Gallek (@edgallekfox8) July 28, 2017
Grand jury could decide in days if there should be charges in Conley case or if there's not enough evidence
— Ed Gallek (@edgallekfox8) July 28, 2017
This may not be good news for the Raiders or Conley. For a prosecutor to send the case before a grand jury, they have to believe there is enough evidence for an indictment.
The evidence the prosecutor presents cannot be challenged by defense lawyers and the level of “reasonable doubt” is much lower than during an actual trial. These things combine to make it more likely than not that an indictment happens. There is a very common saying among prosecutors that they could “indict a ham sandwich for murder”. That statement is not far from the truth.
That would mean the Raiders are dealing with a rape trial for a player they believed would not be facing any charges.
“We did our due diligence throughout this whole process,” said Reggie McKenzie following the selection.
“The bottom line is we’ve done miles and miles of research to make sure we were totally comfortable with our decision which we were.”
Conley’s case will be decided in the next few days, the Raiders are hoping it is with the result they expected.
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