The San Diego Police Department announced Thursday that it had completed its 10-month investigation into the reported gang rape of a teenage girl, allegedly by members of the San Diego State football team.
Police say no arrests have been made in the "very complex" case but that they had submitted the results of their probe to the San Diego District Attorney’s office for review.
A police expert told KPBS that this usually happens when too much time has passed since the suspected crime. The expert said police typically would send the results of their investigation to the District Attorney for review in high-profile cases.
The expert said the D.A. would either review the case and file charges or send the case to the grand jury for determination.
A spokesperson for the district attorney’s office said the D.A. will review the case but did not give a timetable for when charges might be filed as each case is different.
Dan Gilleon, the attorney for the now 18-year-old woman, said this is another example of the power of the media.
“Had it not been for the brave souls who contacted the L.A. Times and the newspaper reporters and editors who recognized the travesty of justice unfolding, these rapists would have walked away from their crimes without the SDPD even giving the D.A. a chance to prosecute them,” he said.
Gilleon add that he hoped the D.A’s office wouldn’t give preferential treatment to the suspected players because of their high profile.
The alleged rape happened last October at a house party off campus. The then-17-year-old said she went to a Halloween party where she was led to a room inside the house. There, she said, she was sexually assaulted.
Earlier this week, the university said it had started its Title IX investigation after it had been given the green light from SDPD. The university said it was told not to conduct its own investigation because that could have interfered with the police criminal investigation.
The story was first reported by the Los Angeles Times, which said five football players raped the girl during an off-campus house party and "left her bloodied and bruised" in the backyard of the home.
