Illinois suspended star guard Terrence Shannon Jr. on Thursday after a warrant was issued for his arrest on a rape charge.
The Douglas County (Kansas) District Attorney issued the warrant for the Big Ten’s second-leading scorer on Wednesday.
The alleged incident occurred while Shannon was in Lawrence, Kan., to attend the Illinois-Kansas football game on Sept. 8. Shannon traveled to Lawrence and turned himself in shortly after learning of the warrant, and he posted $50,000 bond to satisfy terms of his release, his attorney said in a statement Thursday.
Charging documents reveal Shannon would face a “minimum of 147 months to a maximum of 653 months in prison and/or a fine of up to $300,000 and 36 months post-release supervision,” if convicted.
Attorney Mark P. Sutter said Shannon intends to take the case to trial.
“Since September, when these allegations surfaced, Terrence has cooperated with law enforcement throughout the investigation, declaring his innocence from the beginning,” Sutter said in a statement. “Now, several months later, my office learned that formal charges were filed against him yesterday in Lawrence, KS. In less than 24 hours, my client responded, and he voluntarily surrendered to local authorities for processing and release. Terrence is innocent of these charges, and he intends to take his case to trial.”
Illinois officials released a statement announcing that Shannon had been immediately suspended from all team activities.
“The University and DIA (Division of Intercollegiate Athletics) take allegations of sexual misconduct seriously while respecting due process and the presumption of innocence afforded through the legal system.
“DIA and Urbana campus officials have been aware of a Lawrence police investigation into Shannon since late September but, until Wednesday, had yet to receive actionable information. Shannon’s arrest triggers the DIA student-athlete misconduct policy. Under that policy, Shannon has been immediately suspended from all team activities. Any change to Shannon’s status will be communicated in a timely manner.”
Shannon is having an All-American-caliber season, averaging 21.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 11 starts for the 11th-ranked Fighting Illini (9-2, 1-0 Big Ten).
The 6-foot-6 senior from Chicago has career averages of 13.5 points and 3.9 rebounds in 125 games (95 starts) for Texas Tech (2019-22) and Illinois.
–Field Level Media
