Attorney says Florida Gators QB Treon Harris innocent, paints accuser as ‘aggressor’

Treon Harris’ attorney said the University of Florida’s suspended quarterback is innocent of the alleged sexual assault against a female student early Sunday evening in an on-campus dorm.

Huntley Johnson, who has represented dozens of UF athletes over the years, issued a statement Thursday adamantly defending Harris, closing with “Mr. Harris is not guilty of a crime and did not mistreat this young lady in any way that night.”

He later added: “Misstatements in the media have painted a picture that is inconsistent with the evidence.”

The University of Florida Police Department released a heavily redacted incident report late Wednesday afternoon, citing privacy laws as the investigation continues.

Johnson does not believe Harris will ever be arrested or prosecuted “because of our experience and the facts of this case.”

The lawyer dismissed the notion Harris didn’t know his accuser, stating, “They had each other’s cellphone numbers and had previously spent time together of their own accord for the purpose of socializing together. He also denied that his client forced his way into the alleged victim’s bedroom. “Mr. Harris has never been inside the young lady’s room.”

In the detailed statement, Johnson said another male had sexual relations with the accuser an hour before the alleged incident with Harris. The Herald can confirm Florida Today’s report that the second male is a fellow Florida football player.

“Testimony indicates that the young lady in question was the sexual aggressor in that interaction,” Johnson said.

He continued: “Our investigation has produced no evidence whatsoever that the young lady in question was impaired. We have provided law enforcement with multiple witnesses that will indicate what the interaction was between the alleged victim and our client before they returned to our client’s room: they were smiling and they were holding hands.”

Harris’ attorney said the former Miami Booker T. Washington standout provided text messages to the authorities, outlining a timeline with the alleged victim.

“We have provided multiple text messages to the authorities investigating this incident. These texts were exchanged among the alleged victim, Mr. Harris, and the other gentleman mentioned above.

“When these text messages are released, they will show that the young woman making these allegations initiated the conduct with Mr. Harris while he was still in the locker room in Knoxville. Shortly after the team plane landed, texting continued between Mr. Harris and the alleged victim.

“We believe the evidence will show the alleged victim was in fact in the sexual aggressor with not one, but two young men early last Sunday morning.”

Johnson also gave law enforcement six witnesses, surveillance tape locations and information gathered from the Internet “that this young woman posted Sunday, after the alleged misconduct, where she is smiling and happy.”

“There is no indication of any physical or mental trauma,” Johnson said.

Since Harris isn’t just suspended by the UAA, but is serving an “interim suspension” by the university, he is disallowed from taking classes on campus. However, Johnson said Harris is permitted to take online classes following a successful appeal.

Harris also is subject to student code of conduct sanctions even if he isn’t charged with sexual assault.

This story was originally published October 9, 2014 at 3:06 PM with the headline "Attorney says Florida Gators QB Treon Harris innocent, paints accuser as ‘aggressor’."