Last summer, UCLA Bruins punter Adam Searl was arrested following sexual assault allegations from two separate incidents. On Thursday, prosecutors decided not to pursue the charges.
According to the Associated Press, a lack of evidence led to the decision by the Los Angeles district attorney’s office.
From the report:
Searl, a walk-on for the Bruins, was arrested a year after another student reported that she became drunk at a party in October 2014 and blacked out, to wake up in her own nearby apartment with Searl on top of her ”taking her clothes off,” according to a DA’s office charge evaluation worksheet.
The woman claimed she blacked out a total of three times but remembered part of a sexual encounter and later found three used condoms, according to the report.
Searl’s DNA was found on the condoms, the report said, but a lengthy investigation failed to find evidence to show the woman was too drunk to consent to sex. There also was some evidence indicating she led Searl to her apartment, the report said.
Prosecutors also rejected charges involving a woman who claimed that Searl sexually assaulted after she became intoxicated at a party in February 2014.
The report said the woman failed to report the alleged attack for nearly a year and eight months, until she heard about Searl’s arrest.
Searl was reinstated to the team “after it became clear that he would not be charged” for spring practice.
“Adam has maintained his innocence from the start and could not be happier to have his name finally cleared,” his attorney, Mark Hathaway, said. “It’s sad. The kid’s name is in Sports Illustrated, they walk him off-campus, he’s arrested publicly.”
UCLA opens its 2016 campaign on Sept. 3 at Texas A&M.
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