Patrick Kane declines to comment on report he won't face charge

Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane refuses to comment on a Buffalo News report that criminal charges are unlikely to be filed against him, stemming from an alleged rape reported this summer.

A woman told police on Aug. 2 that Kane raped her early that morning at his lakefront home in Hamburg, N.Y., after meeting her in a bar in downtown Buffalo.

"There's been a lot of reports, a lot of things that have been said that have been wrong," Kane said after a Blackhawks practice on Sunday. "A lot of things that have been said that may have been accurate too. We've kind of stayed even keel the whole time ... leaving it to the facts and what actually happens instead of going off sources and different reports.

"Those are just reports, and not really any facts or anything so far. So for me to comment on that would be going against what we've been doing the whole time, so I'm not really going to say much about it until the district attorney addresses everything and he makes his decision."

Erie County district attorney Frank A. Sedita III declined to comment to the News about whether he would present the case to a grand jury. or whether he intends to file criminal charges against Kane.

Paul Cambria, Kane's attorney, also declined comment.

The 26-year-old Kane, who is from South Buffalo, has denied wrongdoing, but has not publicly stated his version of the alleged events.

The News reported on Sept. 19 that DNA evidence obtained during the investigation did not confirm the woman's rape allegation.

The case took a bizarre turn a few days later when a Buffalo lawyer representing the woman at the time told reporters during a news conference that the alleged victim's mother had discovered a "rape kit evidence bag" at her home.

A day later, Thomas J. Eoannou announced he was withdrawing from the case because the alleged victim's mother had given him false information about the discovery of the bag.

Sedita then held a press conference and said the incident involving the bag was an "elaborate hoax" perpetrated by the alleged victim's mother.

Kane helped the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup for the third time in six years last spring.

The winger is once again among the NHL's top scorers this season.