FSU investigates Jameis Winston's rape case, charges 2 teammates with misconduct

Few stories highlighted the at-times sketchy relationship between the law of the land and Division I NCAA football better than the case against Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston. Around the time that Winston led FSU's Seminoles to a national championship, he was accused of raping a female student.

At the time, outside observers seemed to think that Florida State was intentionally flubbing the investigation (if they were investigating at all), but now inside sources who spoke to Deadspin have confirmed that Winston was investigated along with several other teammates. Two of Winston's teammates have been charged under FSU's misconduct policy.

Via Deadspin:

The two teammates, Chris Casher and Ronald Darby, were recently charged with five violations of the university's code of conduct, according to the source, who spoke with Deadspin on condition of anonymity because the university's proceedings were confidential. Winston doesn't currently face any conduct charges.

Like most universities, FSU has a conduct code separate from municipal criminal systems, under which students can be sanctioned for misconduct. At Florida State, a student need not be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, but merely "responsible" or "not responsible" for the misconduct alleged in the charges.

...

Both Casher and Darby face FSU charges of "conduct of a sexual nature that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment for another person" and "acts that invade the privacy of another person." Casher faces an additional charge of "recording of images without consent." If found responsible in a university hearing, they could receive punishments ranging from a letter of reprimand to expulsion from the university. 

In cases like this, FSU is required to conduct a "Title IX" investigation. Many people accused FSU of failing to investigate the case. According to the unnamed source, they did investigate Winston and his teammates, they just waited until the football season was over to do it. Considering that the alleged sexual assault took place in December of 2012, that's well over a year before FSU took action.

According to the source, Winston refused to cooperate with investigators, who were essentially forced to explain many parts of the university's legal code after Winston declined to answer whether he understood the allegations.

FSU is currently under investigation by the Department of Education for its handling of the case.