SYRACUSE - An Onondaga County grand jury won't bring criminal charges against three Syracuse University basketball players accused of sexually assaulting a female student, but the school said Saturday it will go ahead with its own disciplinary process.
Syracuse spokesman Kevin Morrow said the decision clears the way for university hearings on whether the code of student conduct was violated in the case involving players Jonny Flynn, Antonio Jardine and Rick Jackson.
The allegations and grand jury action were first reported Saturday by The Post-Standard newspaper.
The grand jury acted after taking testimony from the freshman student and the players, who testified Friday after giving up their rights to immunity against prosecution.
The newspaper said the female student - who has since left school - filed complaints about two encounters involving the sophomore players in September and October.
She said she was the victim of forcible sexual assault, her lawyer, Patrick Britt, told The Post-Standard.
Lawyers for the players denied the charges as they left the grand jury room.
“I want to make it clear, Jonny Flynn denies that anything even remotely improper happened and that the allegations are completely false and baseless,” attorney Stefano Cambareri told the newspaper.
Messages left Saturday at the offices of District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, Britt and the defense lawyers were not immediately returned.
Flynn is a guard from Niagara who averaged 15.7 points per game and 2.7 rebounds last season, according to the team Web site. Jardine (5.5 points, 1.5 rebounds) and Jackson (3.7 points, 3.0 rebounds) are both from Philadelphia.
The allegations and grand jury action were first reported Saturday by The Post-Standard newspaper.
The grand jury acted after taking testimony from the freshman student and the players, who testified Friday after giving up their rights to immunity against prosecution.
The newspaper said the female student - who has since left school - filed complaints about two encounters involving the sophomore players in September and October.
She said she was the victim of forcible sexual assault, her lawyer, Patrick Britt, told The Post-Standard.
Lawyers for the players denied the charges as they left the grand jury room.
“I want to make it clear, Jonny Flynn denies that anything even remotely improper happened and that the allegations are completely false and baseless,” attorney Stefano Cambareri told the newspaper.
Messages left Saturday at the offices of District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, Britt and the defense lawyers were not immediately returned.
Flynn is a guard from Niagara who averaged 15.7 points per game and 2.7 rebounds last season, according to the team Web site. Jardine (5.5 points, 1.5 rebounds) and Jackson (3.7 points, 3.0 rebounds) are both from Philadelphia.
