A Florida State panel has reportedly cleared Seminoles starting cornerback Ronald Darby of any wrongdoing related to a 2012 sexual encounter involving Heisman-winning quarterback Jameis Winston.
Darby and projected starting defensive end Chris Casher witnessed the incident in December 2012 -- both provided sworn affidavits and were interviewed during a criminal investigation into a sexual-assault allegation against Winston. They were accused of two school code-of-conduct violations.
Darby's attorney, Tico Gimbel, said the panel found Darby not responsible for "conduct of a sexual nature that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment for another person" and "acts that invade privacy of another person," per The Tallahassee Democrat.
Casher faced the same two charges as well as a charge of "recording images without consent," according to The Democrat. Casher told police he filmed the encounter on his cell phone, but said he later deleted it and no longer had the phone.
An attorney representing Casher told The Democrat he could not comment on the decision reached about his client, but did say he and his client were "pleased with it."
The panel met May 20. The woman who accused Winston was present at the hearing for the two players, but Winston was not; instead, he was at the ACC Baseball Tournament.
Darby should be one of the best cornerbacks in the ACC this season, and he and fellow junior P.J. Williams will be one of the best corner duos in the nation.
Winston was not charged criminally and has not faced any school code-of-conduct charges.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
