Raiders Draft Pick Will Not Face Rape Charges
CLEVELAND (AP) — A grand jury in Cleveland has decided not to charge Oakland Raiders rookie Gareon Conley with any crimes after a rape investigation.
Spokesman Ryan Miday of the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office said in a statement Monday that the grand jury declined all possible charges for Conley after being presented the facts and circumstances surrounding the sexual assault allegations.
"I'm excited for him," Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie said from training camp in Napa, California. "It's tough on a young man like that to go through this. I'm excited for Gareon and the Raiders for the process to work. We're excited and now we can move forward."
Conley is a defensive back who starred at Ohio State. He was accused by a 23-year-old woman of sexually assaulting her in a Cleveland hotel room April 9.
Conley's attorney says the sex was consensual. Conley has cooperated with the investigation and said he passed a polygraph test.
Conley signed a four-year contract Friday with the Raiders, who said they did enough research before the draft to be comfortable with taking Conley with the 24th overall pick.
"We just trusted our process really," McKenzie said. "We felt going into it with all the information we got it would come out this way. I'm glad it worked out."
Conley is currently on the physically unable to perform list because of a shin splint injury suffered in June. McKenzie said he could be back on the field in a few days once he is able to run without pain.
The Raiders are expecting a big contribution from Conley to bolster a secondary that struggled last season and allowed an NFL-worst 61 pass plays of at least 20 yards.
"With all the athletic skills he has, there's no question he can be a number one corner," McKenzie said. "We feel good about what we saw prior to the draft and he just validated everything in the offseason. We're excited about not only him physically but mentally the way he goes about his business and the way he studies."
