Erie County DA Comments on State of Patrick Kane Rape Investigation

One day after the accuser's attorney in the Patrick Kane rape investigation withdrew, Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita held a press conference to discuss the controversy surrounding the accuser's rape kit as well as the case as a whole.

Attorney Thomas Eoannou announced Wednesday that his client's rape kit had been tampered with, according to ABC7 in Chicago. After hearing the accuser's mother's account regarding how the rape kit bag arrived at her home, however, Eoannou stepped down since he did not believe the account, per Erik Brady of USA Today.

Sedita addressed the situation Friday and declared that the accuser's mother had orchestrated a hoax, per Julie DiCaro of 670 The Score:

According to DiCaro, it was determined that the mother's statement about finding the rape kit at her front door was false.

Sedita went on to explain that the bag Eoannou showed the media at a press conference Wednesday was not a rape kit bag, per Tim Graham of the Buffalo News. Instead, since the accuser stopped at her mother's home and changed her shirt prior to undergoing the rape kit exam, the mother was provided with the bag to place the shirt in and was always in possession of it, per Graham.

According to Graham, there was no evidence of tampering, and the mother of the accuser is currently not facing charges since her actions didn't technically break the law:

Sedita also made it clear that it is not yet known if the accuser had any role in the hoax, but that the investigation will be impacted if it is ultimately determined that she did, per Graham.

Via DiCaro, Sedita admitted it is far from a lock that the case against the Chicago Blackhawks superstar forward will be heard by a grand jury:

At the same time, the investigation is still scheduled to move forward, according to Michael McCann of Sports Illustrated:

While the investigation continues to play out, Kane remains at Blackhawks training camp, and there is no indication he will be asked to step away by the organization or the NHL.

Assuming the investigation doesn't reach its conclusion in the near future, Kane and the Blackhawks will have an extremely difficult challenge on their hands when it comes to blocking out the distractions and performing on the ice.

The reigning Stanley Cup champions open regular-season play at home against the New York Rangers on Oct. 7.

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