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Anthony OlivieriESPN.com
Prosecutors in Boston issued notice Wednesday that they are no longer prosecuting rape charges against a basketball trainer who previously worked with Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and other NBA stars.
Robert McClanaghan, 43, was arrested in Rhode Island in November as a fugitive from justice after a warrant was issued on charges of rape and drugging for intercourse stemming from an alleged incident with a woman in downtown Boston. He was charged in the Central Division of Boston Municipal Court.
Suffolk County assistant district attorney Kevin Hayden submitted Wednesday that “based on a review of all available evidence, including information that emerged after the defendant’s arrest, [Massachusetts] cannot prove these charges beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.”
A further statement from Hayden’s office read: “Our responsibility in all cases is to follow the evidence wherever it leads. In some cases that endeavor does not add up to a viable prosecution. We have a duty to recognize that conclusion and to take the appropriate action when it is reached. We have taken that appropriate action today. Out of respect for the privacy of all parties involved we will have no further comment.”
McClanaghan’s attorney, Kelli Porges, said in a statement, “Rob and his family are relieved that this nightmare is over, and that he has been exonerated. Rob has maintained his innocence from the very beginning of this case and now he has been vindicated.”
After McClanaghan was extradited from Rhode Island to Massachusetts, his bail was set at $30,000 and later reduced to $10,000.
On his website, McClanaghan bills himself as “the premier skills development trainer for top players in the NBA” and says he has trained former MVPs Russell Westbrook and Derrick Rose, along with Durant and Curry. He was a walk-on for Jim Boeheim at Syracuse from 1998 to 2001, and he appeared in the Orange’s second-round NCAA tournament loss to Kansas in 2001.
Source: www.espn.com