Jameis Winston Accuser Speaks Out in Documentary
In a soon-to-be-released documentary detailing sexual assault crimes on campuses throughout the country and the lack of support for victims, the woman who accused Jameis Winston of rape has come forward to share her side of the story on camera.
The film, entitled The Hunting Ground, examines the rape culture that exists at colleges and universities around the United States. It debuted on Friday at the Sundance Film Festival and will air on CNN later this year.
Erica Kinsman was a freshman at Florida State University when she accused Winston of sexual assualt, which came one year before he won the Heisman Trophy. The Daily Beast has a thorough account of Kinsman's night as she explained it in the film. We'll let you read the full details on your own if you can stomach it, but here's how the two first met that December night in 2012:
She claims in the film that, after having some drinks, a man was creepily following her around the bar—but she was saved when another man put his arm around her and told the guy she was his girlfriend, and to piss off. Kinsman says the man then bought her a shot, and after she took it, she started to become very woozy. She faintly remembers being taken in a cab to an apartment, and the next thing she knew, the man was on top of her, engaging in vaginal intercourse with her. She says she begged and pleaded for him to stop, and then saw the man’s roommate enter the bedroom and tell his friend, “Stop… What are you doing?”
If true, it sounds disturbingly premeditated on Winston's part. Unfortunately, the case was mishandled from the beginning. As The New York Times documented, the Tallahassee Police dropped the ball on the investigation, which ultimately led to no charges being filed against Winston. The Alabama native was eventually cleared again at a student code of conduct hearing in December.
The case hasn't completely closed as Kinsman filed a federal lawsuit against Florida State earlier this month.