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An Indiana prosecutor said Thursday his office won't pursue criminal charges in the case of a St. Mary's College student who reportedly accused a Notre Dame football player of sexual battery.
St. Joseph County Prosecutor Michael Dvorak said in a news release that the decision was based on evidence and the fact that statements by 19-year-old Elizabeth ''Lizzy'' Seeberg would likely be inadmissible in court because of "evidentiary rules involving hearsay."
Seeberg died of a suspected drug overdose on Sept. 10. Dvorak says Seeberg had accused a student-athlete of touching her breasts on Aug. 31. He did not name the athlete.
A message seeking comment on Dvorak's decision was left Thursday by The Associated Press for Seeberg's parents, Tom and Mary, of Northbrook, Ill., and their attorney, Zachary Fardon.
The Seebergs told The Chicago Tribune in a story published Thursday before Dvorak announced his decision that they feel betrayed by the college that generations of their family have attended. They said campus police seem to have conducted a superficial investigation of their daughter's allegations, according to the newspaper.
They also questioned why a timeline they received from Notre Dame shows it took police two weeks to interview the football player their daughter accused of assault.
Janet Botz, Notre Dame's vice president of public affairs and communications, wrote in an e-mail to faculty, staff and students in response to The Chicago Tribune article that privacy laws prohibits it from discussing specific disciplinary cases. But she said the university conducts ''all investigations of potential student violations of the law or university policies with the utmost professionalism.''
Spokesman Dennis Brown said the school had no immediate comment on Dvorak's decision. Messages seeking comment from football coach Brian Kelly were left by the AP for Brian Hardin, Notre Dame's director of football media relations, at his office and on his cell phone.
Dvorak said the Seeberg made two separate allegations against two Notre Dame students, one of whom was an athlete. He said the first allegation involved the touching of her breasts on Aug. 31 by the athlete. The second complaint was about text messages received by Seeberg from the other student on Sept. 2.
Dvorak said only Seeberg and the athlete were present during the alleged assault. He said statements were taken from those two and a female friend.
"Conflicts exist among the witnesses' accounts of the events given to the police. Subpoenaed cell phone records are inconsistent with parts of the complaint itself," he said.
Dvorak did not return a telephone message from the AP more seeking information about the conflicts and the cell phone records. He said text messages sent to Seeberg on Sept. 2 by the other student did not rise to the level of a criminal act,
"The student subjectively believed Ms. Seeberg's complaint was false and therefore he had a legitimate purpose for his text messages," Dvorak wrote.
Dvorak said his office began investigating the case on Nov. 17, after campus police handed the office its reports.
