Chicago Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane may soon see an end to his tumultuous off-ice legal issue with multiple reports saying that the woman accuser is no longer cooperating with investigators.
Apparently the high-profile issue has taken its toll on the accuser and her family. With that said, the accuser has reportedly signed an ‘affidavit declining prosecution’ document which is now in the hands District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III.
It remains to be seen if this could probably signal the end of the highly controversial issue that has had its share of strange twists.
It was on Aug. 2 that the woman in focus alleged that Kane had raped her at the hockey star’s lakefront home.
Kane was not charged with anything and then a wild sequence involving the alleged rape kit came into focus.
It went as far as the lawyer, Thomas Eoannou, of the accuser holding a press conference and claiming that the rape kit was tampered. As it turned out, the whole thing was an elaborate hoax and that the actual rape kit was in the hospital and never left.
As it turned out, the rape kit which the mother claims landed at her home was nothing more than a hospital bag handed to the mother of the victim.
The mother claims that she did not know that it was the victim’s upper clothing in the bag which was to be picked up by a police officer at her house. The bag had a label from ECMC with the victim’s name and date of birth on it.
From here it seems that things took a different turn when Eoannou, announced that he was no longer representing the alleged victim.
Kane for his part has opted not to discuss anything on the matter as the Blackhawks winger focuses on the NHL season.
He was expectedly hounded by reporters, most wanting to get a reaction or statement from Kane though he made it clear that he would not answer any questions related to the whole issue.
“Like I said, if you guys have questions about the game against St. Louis or the game last night I’ll answer those,” Kane said. “I’ll answer some hockey questions but there’s no point of me answering anything else right now. Nothing’s happened.”
It is unlikely that Kane would be facing any criminal charges with anything following the circus of events capped with the accuser’s wish to no longer participate in the investigations.
However Gil Soffer, ABC7 Legal Analyst, believes that Kane is not totally in the clear since he could still face a civil suit if the accuser so does chooses.
"It's a near certainty now that there won't be a criminal prosecution by the state," Soffer says. "It should leave her free if she wants to pursue a civil case."
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
