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 There was insufficient evidence to charge the 20-year-old
sophomore, one of the top U.S. college football players last year
after winning the Heisman Trophy, with a violation, concluded
retired Florida Supreme Court Justice Major B. Harding, retained by
the university to oversee the proceedings.
"In sum, the preponderance of the evidence has not shown that you
are responsible for any of the charged violations of the Code,"
Harding wrote in his five-page recommendation.
Winston was not charged criminally in the December 2012 incident,
which he has maintained was consensual, after a Florida state
attorney last year found insufficient evidence.
Attorney John Clune of Boulder, Colorado, who represents the
accuser, said he was "stunned and dismayed by the order."
"It ignores the bulk of the evidence," said Clune, adding he was
considering an appeal.
 His client, who no longer attends Florida State, testified at the
hearing, he said.
Winston did not answer questions at the hearing but submitted a
lengthy statement in which he provided a graphic account of having
sex with the woman in his apartment after they met at a bar near the
campus.
"Clune kept lying about us, and we kept telling the truth about
them," said David Cornwell, the player's Atlanta attorney, in a
Twitter post on Sunday.
Florida State, which has gone undefeated for two seasons under
Winston, is preparing to defend its national title next month in the
first-ever collegiate football playoffs.
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The case has received widespread attention as U.S. universities face
scrutiny for their handling of sexual assault allegations, and the
National Football League faces criticism for its handling of
domestic violence and abuse by its players.
The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights is
investigating Florida State under Title IX, which requires colleges
receiving federal funds to promptly investigate sexual abuse
complaints.
Citing confidentiality of student disciplinary procedures, Harding
declined Sunday to discuss his findings, submitted to the university
on Friday.
Florida State President John Thrasher said in a statement that the
hearing reviewed more than 1,000 pages of evidence from multiple
investigations.
"Moving forward, we remain committed to the principle of due
process," he said, calling student safety the school's top priority.
(Reporting by Bill Cotterell; Writing by Letitia Stein; Editing by
Colleen Jenkins, Eric Walsh and Christian Plumb)
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