Report: Rape charges dropped against ex-NHLer Mike Comrie
This post originally appeared on People.com.
Hilary Duff‘s ex-husband Mike Comrie, who was under investigation for alleged sexual battery, will not be charged with rape, according to TMZ Sports.
Prosecutors said there was reasonable doubt as to whether Comrie’s accuser consented to anal sex during the alleged encounter in February, and they will not move forward with the charges, TMZ reported. According to official documents obtained by the outlet, the accuser said the sex was consensual at first, until Comrie allegedly crossed the line by engaging in anal sex.
A Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson had confirmed to PEOPLE in February that the former professional hockey player was under investigation. The spokesperson could not confirm further details, citing the confidentiality surrounding such cases. According to California law, sexual battery involves a person touching “an intimate part of another person” without their consent.
The 36-year-old Canadian native spent 13 years as a professional hockey centre before hanging up his skates in 2012 following his third hip surgery. His father is the founder of The Brick, one of Canada’s largest retailers.
Duff and Comrie, who co-parent 5-year-old son Luca, finalized their divorce in January of last year, after splitting almost two years earlier. They wed in 2010.
Duff, who has been linked to personal trainer Jason Walsh and singer Matthew Koma since splitting from Comrie, has said she doesn’t “feel the need” to tie the knot in the future. In a November interview with costar Nico Tortorella on his podcast, The Love Bomb, Duff admitted, “I don’t feel the need to get married again. As much as I was ready and excited, you’re like, ‘Oh, next step. We get married.’ That is the traditional person that I’m talking about that’s inside of me or however I was raised.”
“I don’t feel the need. I got to have the experience and it was awesome,” she said. “I guess if it mattered to someone else that much, I would consider it.”