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L.A. prosecutors won’t pursue criminal charges against former USC football players accused of sexual assault

Former USC linebackers Osa Masina, left, and Don Hill.
(Photograph at left: Shotgun Spratling / Los Angeles Times; photograph at right, Ryan Kang / Associated Press)
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Prosecutors in Los Angeles will not pursue criminal charges against former USC football players Osa Masina and Don Hill, who in July were accused of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman.

In a charge evaluation sheet released Tuesday, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office determined, “There is insufficient evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Masina is scheduled to stand trial in Salt Lake City, stemming from an alleged incident involving the same woman that she says took place less than two weeks after she said she was assaulted in Los Angeles. Masina has plead not guilty to charges of first-degree rape and two charges of forcible sodomy. That trial is scheduled to begin June 26. Hill was not involved in the allegations in Utah.

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In declining to pursue charges, the Los Angeles district attorney’s office cited a lack of physical evidence or toxicology reports because of the delay between the alleged incident and the woman speaking with police.

“Due to the victim’s description of the amount of controlled substances and alcohol consumed by the suspects, as well as Masina’s statements, there is insufficient evidence to prove they knew or should have known that she was unable to legally consent,” the report said.

The documents said the woman, who reported both incidents to police in Utah, declined to meet with investigators in Los Angeles.

Masina and Hill were both sophomore linebackers when the allegations arose. Masina was in line to battle for a starting position. Hill was likely headed into a special teams role. After the accusations became known, each was suspended from the team. They later were removed from the roster entirely.

According to police records, the woman told investigators that she visited Masina and Hill in Los Angeles, where Masina gave her two Xanax pills. All three, she said, consumed drugs and alcohol.

She said that, “while feeling confused and not in control of her body, Masina and Hill engaged in sex with her.”

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Two weeks later, the woman reported seeing Masina on July 25 at a house party in Salt Lake City, where the two had attended high school together.

She described them and others drinking alcohol and consuming cookies laced with marijuana, according to a report from the Cottonwood Heights Police Department in Utah. The woman told police she fell asleep in the home’s basement and awoke to Masina raping her.

The woman reported both incidents to the Cottonwood Heights Police Department on July 29.

The report said Masina told investigators that the incident in Los Angeles involved consensual intercourse. Masina said that Hill did not engage in sex acts with the victim. Hill did not provide a statement.

Masina is not represented by an attorney in Los Angeles. Greg Skordas, his attorney in Salt Lake City, said Masina had not been contacted by the district attorney’s office on Tuesday.

Hill, who attended high in Boise, Idaho, could not be reached for comment.

zach.helfand@latimes.com

Follow Zach Helfand on Twitter @zhelfand

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