Bob Williams, father of Duke basketball recruit Shelden Williams, said Wednesday night that an investigator told him no charges would be brought against his son in an alleged rape. The news came just hours after a Columbus, Ohio, television station reported that the alleged victim had decided not to file charges.
"I was told that by the investigating officer, but things have not been finalized yet," said Bob Williams. He declined to comment further and said his son would not comment on the matter.
According to The Daily Oklahoman, the woman alleged that Shelden Williams, along with two of his high school teammates, sexually assaulted her in a hotel room at the Columbus Hyatt Regency at 2 a.m. Jan. 20. She said two other players had watched. The Midwest City basketball team had been in Columbus for the National Hoops Classic tournament.
"Prosecuted or not, they know exactly what they did, and they have to live with that," the woman told Columbus' CBS affiliate, WBNS-10TV.
Earlier in the day, Bob Williams declined to comment on his son's description of the events of Jan. 20 but said he he felt both his son and the woman had exercised poor judgment.
"We pray for the young lady and all the people involved," Bob Williams said. "We want our son to be able to go forth. God has put it in his [life] to make him stronger.... He's going to have to face this each and every day."
Although Duke officials have declined to comment on Shelden Williams' admissions status, his father said he thought his son had been admitted to the University. The recruit signed a letter of intent last fall, but that commitment did not officially admit Williams to Duke.
Bob Williams said he had talked to no Duke officials other than basketball coaches, including head coach Mike Krzyzewski. "They've been 100 percent supportive," he said. "[They said] OWe're 100 percent behind you. Our prayers are with you.'"
Columbus police department officials could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but spokesperson Sherry Mercurio told the Oklahoman Tuesday that police planned to interview the woman a second time. She said they would then decide whether to press charges or send the case to a grand jury. Under law, Williams, 18, could face a grand jury, but his teammates, who are minors, could not.
Krzyzewski addressed the matter during the ACC's weekly teleconference Tuesday.
"I think it would be bad on my part to comment on things that I don't know the complete story about," he said. "You just let that take its normal course of action. And then once that's done, then you make whatever decisions have to be made to help the young man and everyone involved in the situation."
In an interview Sunday night, Williams called the woman's accusations false.
"We were in our room getting ready to go to bed, and someone came in, and things got out of hand, and then Coach came in and broke it up," he said, declining to elaborate. He said he and his teammates had been suspended from school and kicked off the basketball team.
James Herriott contributed to this story.
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