Jameis Winston, the star quarterback of the Florida State University football team, has been cleared of accusations that he violated the student code of conduct in a case involving an alleged sexual assault.
Major B. Harding, a former chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court, said on Sunday that the evidence was “insufficient to satisfy the burden of proof.” The jurist held a two-day hearing on the case this month. Possible penalties against Mr. Winston ranged from reprimand to expulsion.
The accuser, who said Mr. Winston had raped her in an off-campus apartment in December 2012, can request an appeal within five days.
A year ago, a state prosecutor chose not to criminally charge Mr. Winston.
Mr. Harding, who was chosen by Florida State to conduct the investigation, issued his ruling in a letter to Mr. Winston. He wrote that he did not find the credibility of either side in the case “substantially stronger than the other.”
“In sum, the preponderance of the evidence has not shown that you are responsible for any of the charged violations of the code,” Mr. Harding wrote.
The case has put the campus in an unwelcome spotlight for months.
Florida State, the defending national champion, is scheduled to play the University of Oregon in a College Football Playoff semifinal on January 1.
