Athens City Law Director Patrick Lang said today he will not file criminal charges in relation to the Ohio University Police Department's investigation into the creation and destruction of a sex tape that allegedly involved student-athletes.
The announcement comes after an Athens Country grand jury failed to find probable cause that would support criminal charges. Lang presented the grand jury with the case this morning.
Lang said he sought to consult a grand jury for what would have been misdemeanor charges because of the level of public interest in the case. Typically only felony cases, which are the jurisdiction of Athens County Prosecutor C. David Warren's office, are presented to the grand jury.
It's extremely rare to use the grand jury on misdemeanor cases
Lang said. I intend to use it on only those cases that it becomes important to have another layer of review. The fact that we were talking about students sex and college athletics ' I thought the level of interest warranted the extra scrutiny.
Lang declined to comment on any specifics of the case because the law prohibits public disclosure of grand jury proceedings. The Post has submitted a public records request to get all the files related to OUPD's investigation.
That investigation stemmed from a tip OUPD received Jan. 18 that a possible sexual assault had been video taped and shown at a party. Police were able to identify the individuals in the video, and they said the act was between two consenting adults who were unaware of the filming.
OUPD Chief Michael Martinsen told The Post in mid-February that the possible charges were aimed at the man who allegedly produced the tape and another person who may have misled officers in their investigation.
Ohio Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt said he was pleased to hear that no charges will be filed and that his department will review the cases, but he's not sure it will lead to disciplinary action.
If the judicial system decided there's not enough evidence to file charges I'm not sure what would prompt us as a department to file sanctions
Hocutt said. That being said
we will obtain a copy of those records now that they're public and see if there's anything that we're not aware of that could warrant action.
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Katie Carrera
