SAN FRANCISCO, CA - SEPTEMBER 16: Ray McDonald #91 of the San Francisco 49ers runs onto the field for their game against the Detroit Lions at Candlestick Park on September 16, 2012 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
A California judge dismissed a felony rape charge against Ray McDonald, a former San Francisco 49ers defensive end, after prosecutors stated the woman who accused him refused to testify.
Santa Clara County Judge David A. Cena dropped the charge, one count of rape of an intoxicated person. Prosecutor Chris Lamiero said in a statement he fruitlessly attempted to convince the victim to testify.
“That is her legal right,” Lamiero said of the woman’s refusal to testify.
The woman claimed she slipped and fell on a pool deck at a party at McDonald’s San Jose home in December 2014 and continued tumbling after that due to her initial head injury and alcohol consumption. She alleged McDonald brought her upstairs to his bedroom and sexually assaulted her. The defensive end was arrested in 2015 and faced a maximum of eight years in prison.
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McDonaldo also faces prosecution on an unrelated misdemeanor charge of violating a restraining order in a separate domestic violence case, stated Sean Webby, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office.
Neither McDonald nor his lawyer could be immediately reached for comment.
McDonald, 32, played with the 49ers from 2007 to 2014 after being drafted as a third-round pick out of Florida. He then signed a one-year deal with the Chicago Bears in March 2015 but was released by the team just two months later after being charged with domestic violence. McDonald’s ex-fiancee Kendra Scott detailed her abuse in an interview with Bay Area TV station KPIX 5 late last year.
A current player for the 49ers, linebacker Ahmad Brooks, still faces sexual battery in a case involving the same woman at the same party. Webby said he was unsure whether or not she would testify against Brooks.
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