Former Illinois basketball star Terrence Shannon Jr. is set to face trial on first-degree felony rape and felony sexual aggravated battery charges, with the trial scheduled to begin on June 10, as ruled by a Kansas judge during his preliminary hearing on Friday.
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At the hearing, Shannon pleaded not guilty after the judge determined there was sufficient probable cause for the trial to proceed.
The charges stem from an incident last year when a woman accused Shannon of sexually assaulting her at a bar in Lawrence, Kansas, on September 9, 2023.
The woman identified Shannon as the assailant after finding his picture through a Google search and reported the incident to local police.
Shannon was subsequently arrested and charged with engaging in sexual intercourse without consent under circumstances where force or fear was involved.
Following the allegations, Shannon was suspended indefinitely by the University of Illinois last December, causing him to miss six games.
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However, he later obtained a temporary restraining order from a federal judge, allowing him to return to the team on January 21.
Shannon played the remainder of the season, helping lead the team to the Elite Eight. In April, the university dropped its investigation into Shannon.
Despite the pending legal proceedings, Shannon remains a projected first-round pick in the NBA draft, scheduled for June 26-27. His attorneys have requested that DNA evidence related to the case be excluded from the trial.
In response to the judge’s ruling at the preliminary hearing, Shannon’s legal team emphasized that it does not determine his guilt or innocence.
“Our legal team is neither shocked nor disappointed by the outcome of this event,” said Mark Sutter, one of Shannon’s attorneys, in a statement. “A preliminary hearing is a procedural process that merely speaks to the threshold of evidence and whether a question of fact may exist for a jury. It has nothing to do with guilt or innocence. Those issues will be decided at trial, and we continue to look forward to our day in court.”
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