The lawyer for Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston told media Thursday morning that his client had consensual sex with the alleged victim.
Tim Jansen held a news conference following the release of an ESPN.com report that stated the DNA found in the alleged victim’s underwear was a match to Winston. Winston voluntarily provided his DNA last week.
When asked whether the sex was consensual, Jansen replied, "absolutely." When Jensen was pressed on the issue of consensual sex, Jensen said the eyewitness reports "will verify that any material that was found or any evidence that was found is consistent with him [doing] nothing wrong."
“I don’t think it’s a secret what the defense is when I tell you that we are not surprised his DNA was found," Jensen said. "We anticipated it would be found. We never, ever said he wasn’t there.
“We are not surprised with the results of the DNA. We voluntarily submitted to a DNA, the only thing we are surprised by is it was leaked out by law enforcement.”
Jensen started to mount Winston’s defense during the news conference by asking the motives of the Tallahassee Police Department and the office of State’s Attorney Willie Meggs for leaking the DNA information. ESPN.com has not revealed its source.
“The question the people should ask is why is it being leaked? For what purpose?” Jensen asked.
On Wednesday, the family of the alleged victim issued a statement saying the Tallahassee Police Department told the alleged victim her life "could be made miserable" if she continued to pursue the complaint.
Jensen also noted he submitted two eyewitness affidavits that would exonerate his client. Jensen said one of the eyewitnesses also provided DNA.
Winston has not been charged with a crime and he has not been interviewed. Jensen said he's worried that is his client is interviewed, it could also be leaked to the media.
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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter!Follow @YahooDrSaturday