Terrence Shannon Jr. Watches with Attorney Mark Sutter as Jurors Are Selected During Court Proceedings

A jury trial of an Illinois basketball player accused of raping a woman at a local bar is set to begin Tuesday, June 11, 2024. Attorneys selected 15 jurors on Monday, June 10, 2024, to hear the case against Terrence Shannon Jr., 23, who is facing a charge of rape for engaging in intercourse with a person who did not consent or who was overcome by force or fear.

According to court documents, the incident occurred just after midnight on September 9, 2023, in the Martini Room of the Jayhawk Cafe (aka the Hawk), 1340 Ohio St. The woman told police she had been groped and raped by a man she later identified as Shannon, according to an affidavit detailing her interview with Lawrence police Detective Josh Leitner.

The woman told police that she and a friend had gone to the bar after the KU-Illinois football game that took place the evening of September 8, 2023. In her interview, the woman said she and her friend were leaving the Martini Room, a basement area that sometimes operates as a kind of VIP room for KU athletes.

The Martini Room, where the incident occurred, is a basement area that sometimes operates as a kind of VIP room for KU athletes.

She said that when she and her friend made their way back through the crowd to the man, he reportedly immediately grabbed the woman’s buttocks to pull her closer to him. He then allegedly nearly immediately placed his finger under her underwear and inserted it into her vagina.

The woman said the penetration lasted from five to 10 seconds, and the entire incident took no more than 30 seconds. The woman said she was not restrained in any way but was dumbfounded and unable to pull away from the man because of the tightly packed room.

The woman said she didn’t confront the man at the time and left the bar with her friend shortly thereafter.

A detective from the Lawrence Police department in a file photograph.

The woman told police that Shannon was in the Martini Room with KU athletes whom she recognized. She said she identified Shannon through social media and an internet search. Court records state that phone records show the woman used her phone between 2:15 and 3:45 a.m. to search the KU football and basketball rosters, and then the Illinois basketball roster.

After identifying Shannon on the Illini basketball roster, the woman told police she found an Instagram post showing a photo of Shannon at the KU football game on September 8. He was identifiable because parts of his hair were dyed different colors, according to the woman.

The woman called the Lawrence Police Department to report the incident at 3:30 p.m. September 9.

A Lawrence Police car in a file photograph.

Defense attorney Tricia Bath of Leawood-based Bath & Edmonds P.A. made a successful motion to include information during the trial about a third-party incident they assert has relevance in the case. This article will get updated as more information is made available. The case has no direct ties to other universities within the local area, such as Park University and the University of Missouri at Kansas City, UMKC. No further information is known at this time.