UPDATE: A new report out of Buffalo says there have been no settlement talks as of today between attorneys on either side. It also says the grand jury has been postponed “a few weeks.” Lazerus tweeted recently that he was unable to confirm settlement talks, so we still don’t really know much about what’s going on with the situation other than the fact that the grand jury scheduled for Tuesday was postponed.
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The grand jury investigation into rape allegations against Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane set to begin Tuesday has been “abruptly postponed,” reports The Buffalo News. The news has also been confirmed by Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times.
A reason for the delay hasn’t been confirmed, but the News reports that it “appears to involve the possibility of ongoing settlement talks between attorneys for Kane and the victim,” according to two of their sources.
It had been previously reported that an Erie County grand jury would begin hearing evidence about a local woman’s allegation that Kane raped her Aug. 2 at his offseason home in Hamburg, N.Y. The News says in its report that it confirmed “summonses had been issued by the Erie County District Attorney’s Office to individuals directing them to appear before the grand jury.”
For more than a month, the Hamburg Police Department and the Erie County DA’s office have investigated the allegations. Kane has not been charged with a crime, but has met with investigators. Detectives from both the Hamburg Police Department and the Erie County DA’s office met with Kane at the office of his attorney, Paul Cambria.
The Hawks are scheduled to open training camp Sept. 17 on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. The team has repeatedly declined to discuss Kane’s status for camp.