A Texas grand jury decided Wednesday that there was not enough evidence to indict two suspended Baylor football players who had been investigated on allegations of sexual assault.
The grand jury reviewed information from Baylor University's Title IX investigation, police reports, witness statements and victim interviews before deciding there wasn't enough evidence against John Arthur and Tre'von Lewis to proceed to trial, according to a statement released Wednesday by McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna.
Lewis and Arthur, both redshirt freshmen last season, were among the Baylor football players suspended from the team in March.
On Nov. 17, 2017, two female Baylor students told police that they were sexually assaulted at University Parks Apartments in Waco, Texas, during the early-morning hours of Nov. 12, according to a Baylor police report. The report listed four suspects, whose names -- along with the names of the female victims, who were members of Baylor's equestrian team -- were blacked out.
The case was submitted to the McLennan County district attorney's office, and as a result of further investigation, cases against only Arthur and Lewis were presented to the grand jury for review, according to sources close to the investigation. In Reyna's statement, he commended the grand jury members for their work and stated, "we agree with and respect their decision."
Baylor University also opened a Title IX sexual violence investigation into the allegations.
During a March 14 news conference, Baylor coach Matt Rhule announced the suspensions and named four players -- Arthur, Lewis and another redshirt freshman Justin Harris, as well as sophomore Eric Ogor. A Baylor spokesman told Outside the Lines at the time that one of the suspensions was unrelated to the sexual assault allegations. But neither the spokesperson nor Rhule, who talked in general about his limited role in the Title IX process, would identify which players were involved in the sexual assault investigation.
Ogor had been suspended in October for the remainder of the 2017 season, and at that time, Baylor officials said his discipline was unrelated to Title IX issues. About a week after the March 14 news conference, Rhule dismissed Ogor from the team for "repeat violations of the athletic department policies" but did not go into detail.
A Baylor spokesperson said in March that the three players tied to the sexual assault investigation had been completely separated from the team since the allegations were first made in November. Although their separation was related to the ongoing sexual assault investigation, the school did not indicate what their alleged role might have been in the reported assault.
When asked Wednesday about the results of the Title IX investigation, a Baylor spokesperson said there was no change in the status of the football players and "no new or additional information to report at this time."