The woman who accused Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane of rape over the summer has reportedly said she no longer wants to cooperate with an investigation into her claims.
The Buffalo News, citing five sources with knowledge of the case, said the woman notified the Erie County District Attorney’s office of her decision, saying the investigation has caused stress on her and her family and she no longer wants to participate.
One source said the woman signed a document called an “affidavit declining prosecution.”
According to the report, the case is under consideration by Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita III, who will ultimately decide whether the case goes forward or not. Sedita could not be immediately reached for comment by NBC Chicago.
Over the weekend, three sources familiar with the case told the Buffalo News they don’t believe the case will be presented to a grand jury.
When asked for comment, Kane echoed previous statements about waiting for the case to be resolved before addressing the reports, though he told reporters in a press conference in September that he is "confident" authorities will find he did "nothing wrong."
"There's been a lot of reports, a lot of things that have been said that have been wrong, a lot of things that have been said that were maybe accurate, too, but we've kind of stayed even keel the whole time and not really saying much, and actually leaving it to the facts and what actually happened instead of going off sources and different reports," Kane said.
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Three months ago, a woman told police Kane had sexually assaulted her at his home in Hamburg, New York, according to reports. A rape kit conducted after the claims were made showed no presence of Kane’s DNA below the woman’s waist, however.
In September, Thomas Eaonnou, the former lawyer for the family of the alleged victim told reporters the victim's mother had found the evidence bag inside the door of her home. At that time, he suggested the bag had once contained the woman's rape kit and called into question all of the test results. Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita later told reporters the mother's claims were part of an "elaborate hoax." Eaonnou later withdrew the accusation, saying he had been misled by the mother, and resigned from the case.
The accuser’s remaining attorney, Rolan Cercone, wrote in a Septemeber letter to the editor for the Buffalo News that the young woman "had no knowledge of -- or anything to do with -- this entire fiasco,” but added that she was "ready, willing and able to cooperate as she has always done throughout this investigation."
Kane's attorney, Paul Cambria, did not immediately respond to NBC Chicago’s request for comment on the latest report.
