A grand jury has decided not to indict former Louisville basketball player Chris Jones or co-defendants Jalen D. Tilford and Tyvon Walker on rape and sodomy charges. The decision was made after the grand jury listened to two days worth of testimony.
The three men were accused of raping two women in the early morning hours of Feb. 22 inside the Cardinal Towne apartments on U of L's campus. Jones was dismissed from the basketball team the next morning after it was discovered that he had broken curfew.
Scott Drabenstadt, the attorney for Tilford, spoke a bit Wednesday afternoon about why the three men were cleared of all charges.
Drabenstadt: attorneys for alleged victims have media statements that were "absolutely inexcusable"
— Jason Riley (@JasonRileyWDRB) April 29, 2015
Drabenstadt: Video from hallway shows alleged victims "giggling" and playful.
— Jason Riley (@JasonRileyWDRB) April 29, 2015
Drabenstadt: There was a party, drinking and sexual promiscuity that night. "The three fellas ran into the wrong women."
— Jason Riley (@JasonRileyWDRB) April 29, 2015
Drabenstadt: Video shows women leaving apartment, playing around after alleged rape. "Thank God that video existed."
— Jason Riley (@JasonRileyWDRB) April 29, 2015
Drabenstadt: All three men are "creeps but not criminals"
— Jason Riley (@JasonRileyWDRB) April 29, 2015
Jones had been Louisville's leader in assists (3.6 apg) and the team's third leading scorer (13.7 ppg) at the time of his dismissal. He dropped out of school and moved off of campus in February to focus all of his attention on this case. He has no collegiate eligibility remaining.
