The case against veteran free-agent outside linebacker Barkevious Mingo involving allegations of indecency with a child-sexual contact was dismissed Friday, according to Mingo’s lawyer, Chris Lewis.
A grand jury in Tarrant County in Texas offered a “no-bill” on the charge, which meant it determined there was not sufficient evidence to prosecute Mingo.
“Today’s decision is the first step in restoring Keke’s good name,” Lewis told ESPN. “And [it] successfully brings to a close what has been a painful and uncertain chapter in his life.”
Particulars of grand jury proceedings, including testimony, are private and not made public after the fact in Texas.
Mingo was arrested in July on a second-degree felony charge. According to an arrest warrant obtained by ESPN at the time, a 13-year-old boy had alleged Mingo pulled at his underwear and touched him inappropriately in 2019.
The Atlanta Falcons released Mingo soon after the arrest.
Mingo’s attorneys have maintained that the claims levied against him were false.
Sworn statements from people present on the night of the alleged incident contradict what the complaining witness said, Lewis told ESPN.
He also said Mingo passed a voluntary polygraph exam in which he denied the allegations. Polygraph results aren’t admissible in court.
Mingo, 31, was taken in the first round of the 2013 draft. He played three years with Cleveland and then spent one season each with New England, Indianapolis, Seattle, Houston and Chicago before signing with Atlanta in the spring.
Source: www.espn.com