FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Sports

Jameis Winston Settles Rape Civil Suit with Accuser

According to the accuser's attorney "the case has been resolved to the satisfaction of the parties."
Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Jameis Winston has settled a civil lawsuit brought against him by Erica Kinsman, the woman who accused him of rape in Dec. 2012 while both were students at Florida State. The settlement avoids a trial that was set to begin in April in federal court in Florida.

Winston and Kinsman "reached a compromise with contingencies," according to the Associated Press, which cites court documents. An attorney for Kinsman said "the case has been resolved to the satisfaction of the parties." The suit is expected to be dismissed within 20 days.

Advertisement

Kinsman sued Winston in 2015, weeks before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took him No. 1 overall in the NFL draft, for sexual battery and assault, as well as emotional distress and false imprisonment. She has been adamant in her allegations, speaking publicly about them and appearing in The Hunting Ground, a documentary about sexual assault on college campuses.

Winston countersued, alleging Kinsman made false and defamatory comments.

The lawsuit stems from Kinsman's claim that Winston raped her at an apartment after meeting her at a bar, where she was drunk. Winston has said that the sex was consensual. A year after the incident, state attorney Willie Meggs declared that he would not arrest and charge Winston.

"We have a duty as prosecutors to only file … charges if we have a reasonable likelihood of a conviction," Meggs said. "We did not feel we could meet that burden."

Kinsman also filed a Title IX lawsuit against Florida State last year, alleging she was subjected to a sexually hostile environment and that the university showed "deliberate indifference." That suit was settled in January, with Florida State agreeing to pay Kinsman $950,000—the most ever in a Title IX suit related to alleged sexual assault. The university did not admit liability in the settlement, and Kinsman maintained her complaint with the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights.

[AP]