Vols’ Von Pearson won’t face charges following rape allegation

One member of the Tennessee football program received some positive news Wednesday afternoon, although he still has hurdles to clear before returning to the playing field.

Multiple media outlets are reporting that the Knox County district attorney’s office has decided Von Pearson won’t face charges after being named as a suspect in a rape investigation. “After a thorough review of the investigation, I have decided there is insufficient evidence to sustain a criminal prosecution against Von Pearson,” DA Charme Allen said in a statement.

Allen’s statement also details the events leading up to today’s announcement.

“On the morning of April 24, 2015, the Knoxville Police Department opened an investigation into an allegation of sexual assault that reportedly occurred at an apartment complex in Fort Sanders. Von Pearson eventually emerged as a potential suspect during the police investigation. The police department’s investigation is complete, and I have reviewed the entire investigation file to determine if a criminal investigation is appropriate.”

Pearson was indefinitely suspended shortly after the allegations surfaced. Head coach Butch Jones stated earlier this week that the wide receiver was also suspended from school.

That school issue, a student-conduct one, leaves Pearson’s future with the Vols in doubt even as he won’t face criminal charges.

According to his attorney, Pearson still has a student conduct case pending, and those cases have a different burden of proof.

— Tennessee Beat (@TennesseeBeat) August 5, 2015

#Vols’ Von Pearson still has a student conduct hurdle to clear before UT reinstates him. Different standards there.

— Wes Rucker (@wesrucker247) August 5, 2015

A UT official confirmed that, despite today’s development, Pearson’s status with both the team and the university remains unchanged. How soon Pearson, the Vols’ second-leading receiver last season, could see a resolution one way or the other is another unknown.

Because of Pearson’s case as well as a case involving two former Vols football players, the university is currently the subject of a federal sexual violence investigation.