Florida's offense may hinge on Antonio Callaway's ability to play football this season and it was looking like he might miss the entire season or a good portion of it in the wake of sexual assault accusations. A University of Florida female student accused him and former quarterback Treon Harris of sexual misconduct in December, but it seems that the state attorney does not see enough to warrant criminal charges for either young man.
RELATED: Antonio Callaway, Treon Harris accused of sexual assault
The woman reported the alleged incident to the university's student conduct and conflict resolution office. She didn't report it to either campus police or Gainesville police. Local law enforcement previously confirmed to ESPN that they didn't have reports related to the alleged incident.State attorney William Cervone says that presented with the facts of this case he did not think that criminal charges would come against either player.
"I had a conversation with officers at the university to see whether it was going to come this way," said Cervone, who said his office never fully investigated the allegations. "Based on what I knew then, I didn't think there was even a remote possibility of criminal charges. It would have been totally un-prosecutable based on the facts given to me. It would have never risen to sexual assault or sexual battery."
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At the very least, this means Callaway will not be charged with any sort of misdemeanor or felony, but could still face a suspension for his conduct once a decision is reached from the hearing that took place on Friday. There was controversy surrounding that as Florida placed a football booster and former school athlete as the adjudicator of the hearing. The alleged victim boycotted the hearing on the grounds that it was not impartial, but the hearing took place anyway.
RELATED: UF releases statement following bias accusations
In January, Florida suspended Callaway and Harris for violating the school's code of conduct policy. They were barred from campus and took online courses during the suspension. Harris recently transferred (with no destination chosen yet) and sources told ESPN that he agreed to leave Florida as part of a plea deal related to the Title IX case and he apologized to the woman.
RELATED: Treon Harris will transfer from UF
Callaway has been partially reinstated to the team and has been allowed to practice. There has been no word on if he will play in any games this fall, but the decision from the hearing should be coming soon and should shed more light on that subject.
[h/t ESPN]
