Friend of Patrick Kane Accuser Called to Grand Jury

A friend of the woman who’s accused Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane of rape has been subpoenaed to testify before an Erie County grand jury on Tuesday, Sept. 8, a source tells WGRZ TV in Buffalo.

The witness was with the woman the night they left a Buffalo bar and went to Kane’s Hamburg home, where the accuser alleges that Kane took her into a room away from others in the house, forced himself on her and left bite marks on her shoulders. Immediately after leaving the house, the accuser went to a local hospital and called police.

A former Erie County district attorney, Frank Clark, tells WGRZ the proceedings may already be under way and could take weeks or months. Grand jury proceedings are secret.

“Right now, it looks as though the decider as to whether or not Patrick Kane is guilty of any criminal conduct or not will be an Erie County grand jury,” Clark told the TV station. “They may have been listening to the case for a while, and we’re just finding out about it. Or it could be that both the police and the prosecutor felt that they had some investigative work to do before they were comfortable in starting a grand jury action.”

Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita III was widely expected among legal observers to take this case to a grand jury rather than bring charges directly. Kane, who has not been arrested, could be called before the grand jury himself.

In New York, a grand jury consists of 23 people and decides whether there is reasonable cause to move forward with a trial based on what the prosecutor presents. A defense attorney is only present if the accused testifies. Jurors can serve for two weeks or several months, and may meet every day for two weeks or for a few days a week over the course of a few months. Twelve jurors must agree on a course of action.

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