Prosecutors Won't Try Notre Dame Rape Case

Because Lizzy Seeberg's suicide makes report inadmissible
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 17, 2010 1:27 PM CST
Prosecutors Won't Try Notre Dame Rape Case
A member of Notre Dame Fighting Irish holds up his helmet in this file photo.   (Getty Images)

A county prosecutor has decided not to bring charges in response to allegations that a University of Notre Dame football player sexually assaulted freshman Elizabeth “Lizzy” Seeberg—in part because Seeberg killed herself, making her statements to campus police inadmissible in court. Neither the player accused of the assault nor his friend, who sent Seeberg an ominous text message, will be charged, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Seeberg reported the incident to campus police on Sept. 1, one day after the alleged attack. The next day, a friend of the player she accused texted her. “Don’t do anything you would regret,” he said. “Messing with notre dame football is a bad idea.” Eight days later, Seeberg, a student at the neighboring St. Mary's College, killed herself. Prosecutors say the text didn’t amount to criminal harassment, because “the student subjectively believed Ms. Seeberg’s complaint was false, and therefore had a legitimate purpose for his text message.” (More Elizabeth Seeberg stories.)

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