Erica Kinsman, Woman Who Accused Jameis Winston Of Rape, Goes Public For First Time

Woman Who Accused Jameis Winston Of Rape Goes Public For First Time

Erica Kinsman has come forward to identify herself publicly for the first time as the woman who reported that she had been raped by Florida State University star quarterback Jameis Winston.

In "The Hunting Ground," a documentary about campus rape that debuted at the Sundance Film Festival over the weekend, Kinsman recounts the process of trying to make the sexual assault report and how she feels failed by FSU and the Tallahassee police, Variety reports.

An attorney who represented Kinsman in the FSU adjudication process and her lawsuit against the university told The Huffington Post that Kinsman is not planning any additional interviews.

In the film, Kinsman recounts the night she says Winston raped her at his apartment despite her pleas for him to stop and after his roommate also allegedly told him to stop. She said Winston gave her a ride on his scooter afterward and dropped her off near her dorm. In the early morning hours after she returned home, she went to the hospital and also filed a police report about the alleged assault.

At the time, Kinsman has said, she did not know who Winston was. She said in the film that she realized his identity when she discovered Winston was enrolled in one of her classes the following semester, according to a report from The Daily Beast. Kinsman said she reported the name but Tallahassee police failed to interview key individuals or move forward on the case for 10 months. The Tallahassee Police Department did not respond to a request for comment on her depiction of how it handled the case.

In the meantime, The Daily Beast writes, Kinsman was harassed on campus for accusing Winston, recounting, "All these people were praising [Winston] ... and calling me a slut, a whore." Kinsman later adds in the movie, "I kind of just want to know, why me? It doesn't really make sense."

Kinsman tried to remain anonymous while she pressed criminal charges and university code of conduct charges, and as she filed a federal lawsuit against FSU.

Yet, rabid FSU football fans passed around personal information about Kinsman online for months, including photos mocking her claims. Winston's attorney also repeatedly used Kinsman's name in statements to the press and on Twitter.

Over the weekend, FSU football fan forums and comment boards lit up with outrage that Kinsman was speaking out, accusing her of making a "money grab."

No one who was interviewed for "The Hunting Ground" film was paid, representatives for the documentary confirmed to HuffPost.

Local prosecutors declined to charge Winston and a university hearing decided Winston had not violated school policy. The U.S. Department of Education has opened an investigation into the university's handling of sexual assault cases because of concerns arising from the case.

"The Hunting Ground" will be released in theaters by Radius on March 20, and will air on CNN later this year.

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