photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Terrence Shannon Jr. hugs his mother after he was acquitted of a rape charge on June 13, 2024, in Douglas County District Court.

NBA player Terrence Shannon is reportedly preparing to sue the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office and the Lawrence Police Department for malicious prosecution after Shannon was quickly acquitted of rape earlier this summer.

Last year Shannon, then a player for the University of Illinois was accused of rape for allegedly digitally penetrating an 18-year-old woman last September at the Jayhawk Cafe, a claim he vigorously denied and that a Douglas County jury in June rejected in less than two hours.

Chicago-based attorney Mark Sutter, who assisted with Shannon’s defense at trial, is reportedly seeking millions in damages from the DA’s Office and LPD.

Shannon’s attorneys blasted the prosecution after trial, saying their client had been put through a terrible ordeal based on the flimsiest of evidence.

Sutter, in particular, said, “Those pursuing this case need to be called out.” He said in closing arguments that he was glad to not live in Kansas because he would be in fear of a prosecutor’s office that would charge a man with rape with so little evidence.

Sutter had also criticized the Lawrence Police Department for what he described as a poorly conducted investigation, as the Journal-World reported, and he suggested that the accuser may have been motivated by money knowing that Shannon was an NBA prospect. As evidence of the latter, he showed the jury text messages between the woman and her friends where they discussed the matter using dollar-sign emojis.

Shannon testified at trial that he had never met the woman who accused him or touched her in any way, as the Journal-World reported.

The Journal-World has reached out to the city, county, DA’s Office and police department for comment on a forthcoming lawsuit.

Shannon had been charged with rape in December 2023 and was initially suspended from Illinois’ basketball team, where he was the star player, but he sued for reinstatement after missing six games so that he could continue to play for the remainder of the season. About two weeks after his acquittal he was chosen in the first round of the NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves.