NAPA -- Raiders first-round pick Gareon Conley was accused of sexual assualt stemming from an April 9 incident in a Cleveland hotel. The investigation surrounding that allegation has been forwarded to a Cuyahoga County grand jury, a Cleveland police spokeswoman told NBC Sports California. The grand jury convened on Monday to determine whether to charge Conley with a crime.
To this point, Conley has not been arrested or charged with anything. He was interviewed by Cleveland police and submitted a DNA sample on May 1, shortly after the Raiders selected him No. 24 overall in the 2017 NFL draft.
Conley has proclaimed his innocence at several points since the allegation, and passed a privately-requested lie detector test just before the NFL draft. The Raiders are confident in their pre-draft research that Conley will be cleared of wrongdoing.
Cleveland police concluded their investigation, and the Cuyahoga County district attorney presented the case to the grand jury. That body will determine whether there's enough evidence to formally charge Conley.
The Ohio State alum signed his rookie contract with the Raiders on Friday night, but has yet to practice with the club. He is on the physically unable to perform list with an undisclosed injury originally suffered in a June minicamp.
