Former Husker football player Katerian LeGrone has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a University of Nebraska student two years ago. The jury verdict came Thursday morning in Lancaster County District Court.
LeGrone was charged with the sexual assault after the incident in August of 2019 at the apartment he shared with another former Husker, Andre Hunt. Hunt was also accused of sexual assault, but took a plea deal and testified in LeGrone’s trial. According to the probable cause affidavit, the woman showed up at the apartment. They ended up in a bedroom where the woman says she felt forced into sexual contact by both men.
She says she didn’t say no because she felt uncomfortable and was fearful of what would happen. After the verdict LeGrone’s defense attorney Mallory Hughes said the woman lied about the sexual assault and turned his life upside down. “You’re kicked off the football team, you’re kicked out of school, you’re kicked off campus and out of your apartment and everything you know is just gone.”
LeGrone says he is relieved a jury acquitted him and is glad the two year ordeal is over. “I never lost focus, I never lost faith. I feel like I’m a better person today, I’m a better man, I’m a better athlete. I’m just happy right now.”
But the Lancaster County Attorney’s Office said in a statement “of course, we are disappointed with the verdict, but we certainly appreciate the hard work of the jury. We are also very proud of the victim, the law enforcement officers and our attorney’s who worked the case. These are difficult cases.”