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Rape charges against high school athlete dropped

SCOTT TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Rape charges against a former Chartiers Valley High School athlete were dropped Wednesday after the alleged victim recanted her story.

In March, the 17-year-old accuser testified that Ross Wilkerson invited her to his home over Snapchat and when she got there, he pushed her into a closet in his family’s pool house and raped her.

On Friday, she told the district attorney that she no longer wanted to pursue charges.

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Wilkerson, who has since graduated and denied the accusations from the beginning, said Wednesday that he just wants to get on with his life.

“Anyone who knows me knows I would not commit such a crime. I was falsely accused,” Wilkerson said. "I just want to thank my family and my friends and everyone else who supported me throughout this."

Wilkerson was to start college at John Carroll University in the fall on a baseball scholarship, but he said that was put in jeopardy.

"It's truly been a nightmare from day one," said Wilkerson's attorney, Michael Santicola. "She told us this was a violent rape and we knew that was completely false. ... Once we uncovered what the communication was between her and a lot of people, a different picture of what happened emerged."

Neither the girl nor her parents were in court Wednesday. Wilkerson's attorneys said they are trying to win back his college baseball scholarship and said they will be filing paperwork to have the teen's record expunged.

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