The DNA taken from the underwear of the woman accusing Jameis Winston of sexual battery matches with the DNA of the Florida State quarterback, according to a report.
ESPN reported on Wednesday that a DNA analysis conducted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on Tuesday showed that the DNA taken from the woman’s underwear matched the DNA sample provided to them by Winston. ESPN adds that the “Florida state crime lab determined that the chances of the DNA in the woman’s underwear are a match for someone other than Winston was one in 2.2 trillion.”
The DNA sample from the woman’s underwear was obtained using a sexual assault kit on Dec. 7 2012, the day the accuser says she was sexually assaulted. Winston recently was swabbed for his sample.
It’s important to note that Winston’s DNA sample matching the accuser’s does not mean he sexually assaulted her.
There are actually two stories going on here.
The first concerns the sexual assault. Was the woman sexually assaulted, and was she sexually assaulted by Winston?
The second concerns the investigation. Was the accuser was discouraged by law enforcement from pursuing the case, as she alleged in a statement from her attorney? Both scenarios are extremely troubling.
The alleged assault occurred last December, but the case was said to have transitioned from open-active to open-inactive in February. Tallahassee interim police chief Tom Coe said the accuser stopped cooperating with police in February, but through her attorney, the accuser says she was discouraged from continuing with the case. The case was essentially re-opened last week because they received new evidence.
Florida’s state attorney, William Meggs, says he did not hear about the case until last week. Meggs told ESPN that his office would ultimately decide whether it believes it has sufficient evidence to charge Winston with a crime.
