Blackhawks' Patrick Kane won't be prosecuted in rape case

BUFFALO -- Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane finally can focus solely on his NHL career after avoiding criminal charges in a rape investigation, with prosecutors ending a three-month ordeal that put one of hockey's biggest stars at the center of intense controversy.

Prosecutors announced Thursday that they declined to file charges against Kane because of a lack of credible evidence in a case "rife with reasonable doubt." The accuser signed an affidavit saying she did not want to press charges, prosecutors said.

Roland Cercone, a lawyer for the 21-year-old woman who made the accusation, did not return messages.

Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita said a three-month investigation found that physical and forensic evidence "tend to contradict" the accuser's claim that she was raped on Aug. 2 at Kane's offseason home outside Buffalo.

"The DNA results lend no corroboration whatsoever to the complainant's claim," Sedita said.

"I have repeatedly said that I did nothing wrong," Kane said in a statement issued by the Blackhawks. "I have respected the legal process and I am glad that this matter has now been closed and I will have nothing further to say going forward."

"We knew all along that Patrick didn't do anything wrong," his agent, Pat Brisson, said in a text. -- AP