Statement: Police warned accuser about pursuing Jameis Winston matter

A Tallahassee detective told an accuser's attorney that Tallahassee is a 'big football town' and her client's life could 'be made miserable' if she pursued a sexual assault case against Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston, according to an exclusive statement released by the family to the Tampa Bay Times on Wednesday.

The statement - released through the family's attorney - is the first public comments from the complainant and her family since allegations surfaced last week that Winston was involved in the investigation of a sexual assault reported in December.

Winston has not been arrested or charged with a crime, and his attorney has publicly denied any wrongdoing by his client. The Times does not identify possible victims of sexual assault investigations.

A Tallahassee police spokesman told the Times on Nov. 8 that an incident was reported after a woman took a shot from an unknown person and left a Tallahassee bar in a cab. According to a heavily redacted police report, the woman said a sexual assault happened between 1:30 and 2 a.m. Tallahassee police responded to a call about two hours later.

After the woman - a Florida State student from the Tampa Bay area - identified Winston as the suspect in early January, 'the family grew concerned that she would be targeted on campus' and requested assistance from an attorney friend, according to the statement.

'When the attorney contacted Detective (Scott) Angulo immediately after Winston was identified, Detective Angulo told the attorney that Tallahassee was a big football town and the victim needs to think long and hard before proceeding against him because she will be raked over the coals and her life will be made miserable,' the family said.

The family also said that Angulo refused to collect Winston's DNA or interview his roommate, a possible witness in the case, because doing so would alert Winston and allow the case to go public.

A public record request by the Times revealed no search warrants executed under Winston's name. And there are no public search warrants related to sex crimes that match the address of the building Winston reportedly lives in. In addition, the public record request did not reveal that any search warrants have been executed in relation to the case since Nov. 11. There is no way to know if there are search warrants that have been carried out but are confidential at this time.

The family also questioned why Winston's attorney, Tim Jansen, was told that the case had been closed in February without FSU police interviewing Winston or collecting DNA.

'The family was shocked to hear that Winston's attorney was not only aware of the case but had been told by Tallahassee Police Department that the case had been closed in February,' the family said. 'All the while, the family was awaiting blood work results until early April.'

Among the questions raised in the statement about the handling of the case:

* Why was Winston not listed as the suspect in the police report when he was identified in early January?

* Why did it take Detective Angulo fourth months to verbally inform the family of the blood work results?

* Why didn't Detective Angulo or his superiors inform the State Attorney of the crime before the media sought a copy of the police report 11 months after the crime?

The family said they are not responsible for the leak of this information, which comes during the height of Winston's Heisman Trophy campaign and FSU's push for its first national title since 1999.

'It was never the intent of the victim or the family for this to become public,' the family said. 'The victim was trying to move on with her life, which has now been turned upside down once again.'

Winston, a redshirt freshman, was a five-star recruit in the class of 2012. In January of that year, he was the MVP of the Under Armour All-America Game at Tropicana Field.

He emerged as a Heisman Trophy candidate this season in his first year as FSU's starting quarterback. Winston has thrown for 28 touchdowns and almost 3,000 yards this season for the second-ranked Seminoles, who are 10-0 and have already clinched a spot in the ACC title game.

Winston was 19-of-21 passing for 277 yards and two touchdowns in last week's 59-3 rout of Syracuse.

Staff writer Tia Mitchell contributed to this report. Matt Baker can be reached at mbaker@tampabay.com.

Statement: Police warned accuser about pursuing Jameis Winston matter 11/20/13