Dallas police said Cowboys’ quarterback Dak Prescott will not be charged after he was accused of sexual assault in an alleged incident in 2017 after his rookie season.
An investigation, which has been closed, determined there was “insufficient evidence” that a crime was committed, police said in a statement this week.
Prescott’s representatives have said they were notified in February about a woman who accused the athlete of sexually assaulting her in 2017.
Prescott has since filed a lawsuit against the woman, alleging that she tried to extort him out of millions of dollars. His suit alleged the woman said she would not press charges or go public about the accusations if Prescott paid her $100 million.
“This case arises out of a blatant attempt by [the woman] and her legal team to extort plaintiff Dak Prescott by weaponizing patently false, yet heinous sexual assault allegations with no basis in reality,” the lawsuit said.
After Prescott's lawsuit, the woman filed a police report that accused Prescott of sexually assaulting her seven years ago, according to NBC Dallas-Fort Worth.
The woman's lawyer, Yoel Zehaie, said they were not surprised that officials announced they would not pursue charges against Prescott.
"Generally speaking, it takes victims a long time to come forward. And that makes ... criminal cases very difficult to prosecute in sexual assault cases," Zehaie said.
“If you look at the data, very few sexual assaults do end up getting prosecuted, but we’re still moving forward with our civil claims.”
After Prescott's suit, the woman filed a lawsuit in March in Dallas County accusing Prescott of sexual assault. That lawsuit was closed and recently re-filed in Collin County, as a countersuit to Prescott's, Zehaie said.
Prescott's lawsuit and the civil suit against him are ongoing, court records and Zehaie said.
A lawyer for Prescott was not immediately reached Friday.
But Prescott’s attorney Levi McCathern thanked officials for a "thorough investigation of the allegations against Dak Prescott," in a statement to NBC Dallas-Forth Worth.
"As we knew they would, they found nothing in their extensive exploration of the facts that would support a criminal prosecution,” McCathern told the station.
“These false accusations were brought up seven years after the alleged events for one reason and one reason only — to line the pockets of the accuser and her attorneys. Their behavior is an affront to all the true survivors of sexual assault.”
In 2021, Prescott signed a four-year deal with the Cowboys worth $160 million, NBC Sports reported.