Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane will not face rape charges. The case against Kane was dropped after the alleged victim refused to cooperate, and prosecutors felt the evidence was “rife with reasonable doubt,” according to ESPN.
New York District Attorney Frank Sedita said that the actual evidence and the victim’s claims “tend to contradict,” after the accuser claimed Kane raped her at his summer home in Buffalo, New York in early August.
“The totality of the credible evidence — the proof — does not sufficiently substantiate the complainant’s allegation that she was raped by Patrick Kane and this so-called ‘case’ is rife with reasonable doubt,” Sedita wrote in a statement according to ESPN. (RELATED: Kane Accuser’s Lawyer Quits, DA Slams Evidence Bag As ‘Elaborate Hoax’)
One of the main aspects that caused the case to collapse was the collected DNA evidence from the accuser could not prove she was raped by Kane, according to ESPN. Paul Cambria, Kane’s attorney, agreed with Sedita’s decision to drop the case telling the Associated Press, “I agree that the case is rife with doubt.”
Kane has continued to play this season in the NHL despite the rape investigation hanging over his head, and has scored 18 points through the first 13 games of the season.