The case first became public knowledge last month, and it has been a black cloud over the heads of Winston and his Seminoles teammates despite a fantastic season on the field.
According to David M. Hale of ESPN.com, the incident in question occurred on Dec. 7, 2012, and an investigation has been ongoing since that time.
Ultimately, Meggs decided the evidence gathered during the extensive investigation into the allegations wasn't enough to charge Winston, who has remained virtually silent during the process. The full evidence of the case was made available by the authorities and can be viewed here. Meggs discussed that decision following the announcement (via Joe Schad of ESPN):
The day before announcing the decision, ABC News passed along comments from Meggs, who said it would have been a lot easier to answer a lot of the lingering questions 11 or 12 months ago:
When you all look at this, when the dust all settles, you'll say, "Man, there were some things that could have been done back in December of '12 that could have cleared this up a whole lot easier than November of 2013."
Throughout the investigation, the biggest point of contention was what actually happened during the encounter in question. Fox Sports' Kevin Vaughan provides an overview of the alleged details from the incident.
Jennifer Portman and Jeff Burlew of the Tallahassee Democrat reported via USA Today that Jansen said the DNA results, which were a match, didn't come as a surprise, but that alone wasn't enough to constitute a crime. He was also frustrated with the leaked results:
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. The question the people should ask is why is it being leaked? For what purpose?
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. We anticipated it would be found. We never, ever said he wasn't there.
After the long and public investigation, the state attorney decided to bring closure to the case without any charges. That's obviously the outcome Winston and his legal team were hoping for since the news made national headlines.
Now, the quarterback and his Florida State teammates can shift their full focus back to the football field. Florida State, which is currently ranked first in the BCS standings, is set to play in the ACC championship game against Duke on Saturday.
A win in that game would punch the team's ticket to the national title game. Having Winston available without the investigation hanging over his head any longer is a positive sign for the Seminoles.
Winston has undoubtedly been the catalyst for the Seminoles, and as ESPN's Adam Schefter reported, NFL draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. declared that the freshman would easily be the top choice in next year's draft were he eligible.
The other factor of note is the Heisman Trophy. A lot of time was spent bantering about whether the freshman quarterback, who is one of the top contenders for the award based on statistics, should he honored due to the off-field situation.
Now that he's been cleared, it should no longer weigh on the minds of voters. They can now base their decision on his play on the field rather than allegations off it.
Only time will tell whether the situation will have a lasting impact on Winston's image. For now, the prosecutors decided against charging him based on the evidence available.
