Ex-NFL player's rape case won't proceed, district attorney says
VISTA - The county District Attorney's Office has decided it will not file
criminal charges against a former NFL player who was arrested on suspicion
of raping a 21-year-old woman in his Cardiff home.
Prosecutor Katherine Flaherty said yesterday that her office has
"thoroughly reviewed the facts of the case" against Stanley Thomas, but
for now the case will not proceed.
"In the criminal justice system, the level of proof required is proof beyond
a reasonable doubt," Flaherty said. "At this time, the facts do not meet our
standard required for issuance."
Flaherty said the decision was made by supervisors within the District
Attorney's Office. She did not say whether the office might file charges against
Thomas in the future.
Thomas, 35, a former offensive lineman, was arrested June 29 at his home
in Cardiff on suspicion of raping an unconscious victim, attempted sodomy
and rape with a foreign object, sheriff's officials said. He was released from jail
the same day after posting $125,000 bail.
Sheriff's officials said a Carlsbad woman contacted the department late June 18
and reported having been raped by Thomas. The woman told sheriff's deputies
she had been bar-hopping in Encinitas with Thomas and other people that evening.
Investigators said she later passed out at Thomas' home.
The woman did not suffer any additional injuries, sheriff's officials said.
Thomas is a graduate of El Centro Union High School and was a first-round pick
of the Chicago Bears in 1991. In 1993, he was traded to the Atlanta Falcons
and later played for the Houston Oilers.