No charges for Blackhawks star Kane after rape investigation

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Prosecutors announced Thursday that they will not bring rape charges against Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane, citing a lack of credible evidence in a case “rife with reasonable doubt” and the accuser’s decision to no longer cooperate in the investigation.

Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita said a three-month investigation found that physical and forensic evidence “tend to contradict” the accuser’s claim that she was raped last Aug. 2 at Kane’s offseason home outside Buffalo.

“The DNA results lend no corroboration whatsoever to the complainant’s claim,” said Sedita, who decided against presenting the case to a grand jury for possible charges. Sedita said the accuser, who is in her 20s, had recently signed an affidavit saying she did not want to press charges.

“The totality of the credible evidence — the proof — does not sufficiently substantiate the complainant’s allegation that she was raped by Patrick Kane,” Sedita said, “and this so-called ‘case’ is rife with reasonable doubt.”

Kane’s attorney, Paul Cambria, said he was not surprised.

“I agree that the case is rife with doubt,” Cambria told The Associated Press.

A person who answered the accuser’s mother’s cellphone hung up Thursday when contacted by The Associated Press. The accuser’s lawyer, Roland Cercone, did not immediately return a message left seeking comment.

The decision ends a high-profile investigation that led to Kane’s removal from the cover of a popular NHL video game, and chants of “She said no!” and “No means no!” during a couple of early road games for the Blackhawks. He is one of the NHL’s top, young stars and has won three Stanley Cup championships in Chicago over the past six years, including last season.

Kane had said he did nothing wrong and expected to be absolved.