UPDATE 3:17 p.m. ET (4/26/17):
On early Wednesday afternoon, ESPN reporter Josina Anderson tweeted out a statement sent to her by Conley's agent. In this statement, Conley again maintains his innocence, and says that the allegations against him are "untrue, wrongful and malicious."
Conley says that he made decisions that put him in the situation on the night in question, and also that these allegations are almost certain to hurt his draft position. He also states that he won't be attending the draft on Thursday so as not to be a distraction.
You can read the whole statement (as well as the original story) below:
Original Story Below
Just two days away from the opening night of the NFL Draft, projected first round pick cornerback Gareon Conley has been accused of rape. According to a police report obtained by TMZ, the alleged incident occurred at a Cleveland hotel earlier this April.
The police report further states that a 23-year-old woman reported that she was assaulted in a bathroom in a hotel suite on April 9. The alleged victim states that she first encountered Conley around 3 a.m. in an elevator, where he asked her to participate in a foursome with another woman and one of his friends. She says that she rejected the offer, but did agree to watch the other couple have sex in the bathroom.
Shortly afterward, Conley began to unbutton her pants to have sex with her. She says that he did this despite the fact that she told him, "No, stop, it hurts!" She adds that, in spite of her pleas, he finished before kicking her out of the hotel room.
Afterward she called 911, where she described her attacker as "[a] black male who wouldn't take his sunglasses off and had an Ohio State tattoo on his left forearm." She then says she went to a nearby hospital, which administered a rape kit. She also refused to talk to an officer when one stopped by the hospital to conduct an interview.
As for the 21-year-old Conley, he has vehemently denied the charges, and says that he will speak to the police on Monday. In the meantime, he has left the draft in Philadelphia to return to Ohio:
Two of Conley's friends who were in the hotel room told the authorities that the woman was mad because she was kicked out of the room. One of his friends said that she and Conley were on the bed together, "but nothing happened."
At the time his friends were being interviewed, Conley was not in the room. The friends told authorities they were unsure of his whereabouts. No arrests have yet been made, nor have any charges been filed.
Also of note is the fact that one of Conley's fellow Buckeyes defensive backs, Marshon Lattimore, made the decision to post the following tweet:
He also engaged in this very brief back-and-forth with Conley, which was captured by TMZ:
All but the "Lord knows!" from Conley have since been deleted.
The Cleveland Police Department did not respond to Complex's request for comment.
