The first time that Terrence Shannon Jr. is slated to be in Douglas County, Kansas District Court on Jan. 18 at 3 p.m. CST. On the same night, Illinois will be playing at Michigan.

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

December 29, 2023

CHAMPAIGN — Terrence Shannon Jr.’s first court appearance following his arrest on rape charges is scheduled for three weeks in advance.

According to the spokesperson for Douglas County (Kansas) District Court, Shannon is slated to appear in that courthouse for his arraignment at 3 p.m. on Jan. 18.

While Shannon Jr. is scheduled to be in a Douglas County, Kansas courtroom, the Illinois men’s basketball team is slated to be in Ann Arbor, Michigan to play the Wolverines at Crisler Arena for a 7:30 p.m. CST tip on FS1.

Shannon Jr. surrendered to authorities in Douglas County, Kansas Thursday morning on rape charges after an arrest warrant was issued the previous day. Citing the university’s student-athlete misconduct policy, Shannon Jr. was immediately suspended indefinitely from all activities regarding the men’s basketball program.

In the initial court appearance, Shannon Jr. will need to be present for a formal reading of the charges brought against the All-Big Ten Conference player and Shannon will be expected to enter their plea.

According to the complaint/charges documents obtained by the clerk at the Douglas County (Kansas) District Court, it is being alleged by Jennifer Tatum, Chief Assistant District Attorney in Douglas County, Kansas that on Sept. 9, 2023 (the day after Shannon traveled on his own as a fan to attend the Illinois-Kansas football game), that Shannon “unlawfully, feloniously, and knowingly engaged in sexual intercourse with a person who did not consent to the sexual intercourse under circumstances when she, was overcome by force or fear.” This is a felony charge in Kansas where the minimum penalty is 147 months (12.25 years) to a maximum of 653 months (54.146 years) in prison and/or a fine of up to $300,000 and three years of post-release supervision.

From yesterday:

Here is the following of what IlliniGuys.com can confirm based on the reporting done throughout Thursday, Dec. 28.

• According to the complaint/charges documents obtained by the clerk at the Douglas County (Kansas) District Court, it is being alleged by Jennifer Tatum, Chief Assistant District Attorney in Douglas County, Kansas that on Sept. 9, 2023 (the day after Shannon traveled on his own as a fan to attend the Illinois-Kansas football game), that Shannon “unlawfully, feloniously, and knowingly engaged in sexual intercourse with a person who did not consent to the sexual intercourse under circumstances when she, was overcome by force or fear.” This is a felony charge in Kansas where the minimum penalty is 147 months (12.25 years) to a maximum of 653 months (54.146 years) in prison and/or a fine of up to $300,000 and three years of post-release supervision.
• This charging document also allows for Tatum to be able to charge Shannon via the route of sexual battery, a class A person misdemeanor, allegeding that Shannon “did unlawfully touch a person who was 16 or more years of age and who did not consent to the touching, with the intent to arouse or satisfy the sexual desires of the offender (i.e. Shannon) or another party”. The penalty of this charge is up to one year in the county jail and/or a fine of up to $2,500.
• The charging document is only two pages long but cites six witnesses including the alleged victim, another unidentified person, two Lawrence, Kansas police officers, a Lawrence, Kansas police detective and a nurse registered in the Douglas County Health Department in Lawrence, Kansas.
• According to the release by the University of Illinois athletics department, Illinois athletics officials and university campus officials had been aware of a police investigation being done in Lawrence, Kansas into Shannon since late September. The release stated that until Wednesday (when the arrest warrant for Shannon was issued), they had yet to receive any actionable information related to a situation involving Shannon.
• It should be noted that the complaint of charges being alleged by Tatum was filed in Douglas County (Kansas) District Court on Dec. 5, 2023 at 3:58 p.m. However, according to the media release by the Illinois athletics department, the arrest warrant for Shannon wasn’t issued until Dec. 27. This leaves a 22-day gap between when this charging document was filed and when the warrant for Shannon’s arrest was processed.
• IlliniGuys.com attempted to get clarification from the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office on Thursday afternoon and from Shannon’s attorney Mark P. Sutter to this 22-day gap between the charging document being filed and the arrest warrant by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office being allegedly filed. The spokesperson for the Douglas County D.A.’s office along with Sutter both declined comment on this matter to IlliniGuys.com citing this was still an ongoing case.
• Upon learning of the arrest warrant that was issued by a judge in the Douglas County (Kansas) District Court, Shannon voluntarily surrendered himself to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. According to sheriff’s office records, Shannon was officially arrested for felony rape at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday and then booked and processed at 11:44 a.m. A mug shot was not provided by the sheriff’s office.
• At 12:03 p.m. Thursday, Shannon posted a $50,000 bond and was released from jail. According to the statement from the University of Illinois athletics department, Shannon then returned to Champaign.
• According to the release by Illinois athletics and athletics director Josh Whitman’s statement, Shannon’s felony charge and arrest “triggers the DIA student-athlete misconduct policy” and Shannon was immediately suspended from all team activities. Under that policy, “DIA has authority to impose discipline, sanctions, or corrective action against student-athletes for misconduct only insofar as the discipline, sanctions, or corrective action relate to a student-athlete’s status and associated privileges as a member of the University of Illinois athletic program. Any discipline, sanctions, or corrective action imposed by the legal system or the University’s Office for Student Conflict Resolution are outside DIA’s purview.”
• It is the understanding of IlliniGuys.com that Shannon’s felony charge and arrest could also trigger a hearing of the Senate Committee on Student Discipline at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. However, it is unclear at this time if Shannon’s charges and arrest have done this. “By authority of the Board of Trustees, the Urbana-Champaign Senate Committee on Student Discipline is responsible for the administration of student discipline for acts involving the violation of campus or university regulations. These regulations are formulated by a variety of sources, including, but not limited to, the Senate Council on Student Conduct Expectations and Accountability, the Senate, the Chancellor, the President, and the Board of Trustees. The university discipline system may take action only upon the following basis: All actions that violate any of the laws or regulations cited in section (a) above and that substantially affect the university community’s interest, even though such actions do not occur on university premises or property.”
• Upon his client’s release from custody, Shannon’s attorney, Mark P. Sutter, released the following statement: “Since September, when these allegations surfaced, Terrence has cooperated with law enforcement throughout the investigation, declaring his innocence from the beginning. Now, several months later, my office learned that formal charges were filed against him yesterday in Lawrence, KS.  In less than 24 hours, my client responded, and he voluntarily surrendered to local authorities for processing and release. Terrence is innocent of these charges, and he intends to take his case to trial.”
• Whitman will be available to the media on Friday evening at State Farm Center, prior to Illinois’ home game vs. Fairleigh Dickinson University.