Nearly a year after UCLA punter Adam Searl was arrested in relation to an alleged sexual assault, prosecutors in Los Angeles have opted not to pursue charges.
According to the Associated Press, the LA County district attorney’s office cited lack of evidence when it rejected the case last week. Searl was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in October 2014. After his arrest, another woman accused Searl of assaulting her in February 2014. Searl maintained his innocence throughout the ordeal.
Searl was arrested in October 2015 after the woman from the alleged October 2014 incident identified him as the man she said assaulted her.
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Searl, a walk-on for the Bruins, was arrested a year after another student reported that she became drunk at a party in October 2014 and blacked out, to wake up in her own nearby apartment with Searl on top of her ”taking her clothes off,” according to a DA’s office charge evaluation worksheet.
The woman claimed she blacked out a total of three times but remembered part of a sexual encounter and later found three used condoms, according to the report. Searl’s DNA was found on the condoms, the report said, but a lengthy investigation failed to find evidence to show the woman was too drunk to consent to sex. There also was some evidence indicating she led Searl to her apartment, the report said.
The prosecution also decided not to pursue charges stemming from a woman’s claims Searl sexually assaulted her after a party in February 2014.
From the AP:
Prosecutors also rejected charges involving a woman who claimed that Searl sexually assaulted after she became intoxicated at a party in February 2014. The report said the woman failed to report the alleged attack for nearly a year and eight months, until she heard about Searl’s arrest.
Searl was allowed to remain in school and is on pace to graduate next year, one of his attorneys said.
“Adam has maintained his innocence from the start and could not be happier to have his name finally cleared,” the attorney, Mark Hathaway, said. “It’s sad. The kid’s name is in Sports Illustrated, they walk him off-campus, he’s arrested publicly.”
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Searl, a redshirt junior, averaged 39 yards on five punts in 2015 before he was suspended following his arrest. He also punted 11 times with a 39.1-yard average in 2014. He was reinstated to the team before spring practice “after it became clear that he would not be charged,” the AP reported.
UCLA opens its season Sept. 3 at Texas A&M.
For more UCLA news, visit BruinSportsReport.com.
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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
