LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) – A Kansas judge on Friday ordered University of Illinois basketball star Terrence Shannon Jr. to stand trial on rape charges following testimony from a woman who said she was “terrified” as she was attacked.
Shannon, 23, of Champaign, Illinois, is accused of committing a sexual assault on September 9 in Lawrence, Kansas. The Lawrence Journal-World reported that Shannon was in Lawrence that day to watch a football game between the Illini and the University of Kansas.
He was charged with rape or another count of sexual assault. The accusation led to Shannon being suspended for six games before a federal judge reinstated him, ruling that his civil rights had been violated.
A woman told police she was at a bar when a man she later identified as Shannon grabbed her buttocks, reached under her skirt and touched her sexually. The woman said the bar was crowded so she couldn’t move.
Shannon said Friday that he never touched the woman, the Journal-World reported.
Judge Sally Pokorny ordered Shannon to stand trial and allowed him to remain free on $50,000 bail.
As a fifth-year student last season, Shannon led the Illini in scoring and helped them reach the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament before losing to eventual champion Connecticut.
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