London's Metropolitan Police confirmed Wednesday that it has passed a "full file" to the Crown Prosecutor Service on its investigation into a Premier League player who was arrested on suspicion of rape in July 2022.
"A full file has been passed to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and detectives continue to work with prosecutors," a Met Police spokesperson said in a statement issued to multiple media entities. "Those who have come forward to police continue to receive support from Met officers."
The CPS will now consider the file and make the decision of whether or not to charge the player, though the timeline of when that decision is made is unclear.
The player, who is in his 30s but has not been named because U.K. law only names those officially charged, is under investigation for four different alleged sexual offenses from April 2021 to June 2022 involving three different victims. He was arrested in July 2022 after the Met Police received a report that a woman in her 20s was raped in the previous month. While the player was in police custody, he was also arrested on suspicion of two other incidents of rape that are alleged to have taken place in April and June 2021 against a different woman in her 20s.
He was initially released on bail but was interviewed by police again in February 2023 after they learned of an additional accusation of sexual offense that took place a year earlier against a third victim. The player's status was later changed to released under investigation in August 2023, and he was interviewed for a third time by police last November.
The player has not been suspended by his club since his arrest in July 2022, and he continues to play while denying the allegations.
Should the CPS decide to charge the player, the right to privacy that has resulted in his name being withheld will come to an end.
