Gareon Conley Rape Allegation Forwarded to a Grand Jury

The Cleveland Police department confirmed Monday that the Gareon Conley rape allegation is being brought before a grand jury, according to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network.

Conley was accused of raping a woman in April but denied any assault took place, claiming the encounter was consensual. He was not arrested or charged with a crime but an investigation has been ongoing.

The grand jury will be tasked with determining whether charges should be brought forward in the investigation.

Austin Knoblauch of NFL.com summarized the police report's description of the alleged incident:

"The victim told police she met Conley while with some friends in a hotel elevator. She said she decided not to stay with her friends and went with Conley back to his room. A man and woman were already in the room when the victim arrived. The couple later went into the bathroom, per the report.

"After being propositioned, the victim said she didn't want to take part. She told police that she didn't want to have sex with Conley and felt she could avoid that by agreeing to watch the other couple. A short time later, the victim told police Conley grabbed her and raped her. She said she told Conley to stop."

Conley's lawyer, Kevin Spellacy, disputed that account, however, to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com in May. According to the NFL.com report, Spellacy argues that "Conley met the victim at a bar and said there is security footage showing Conley and the victim holding hands as they walked on the street near the hotel."

Despite the lingering accusations hovering around Conley, he was still drafted by the Oakland Raiders with the No. 24 overall pick in this year's NFL draft. 

"I understand the issues involved," Oakland general manager Reggie McKenzie told Peter King of The MMQB in late April. "But we did our research, and we read all the reports, and we did more than our due diligence. After all the information we got, we were comfortable with making this choice and confident in who this player is."