The Minneapolis Police Department on Wednesday made public the videos, photos and reports from its investigation into a rape allegation against Chinese billionaire Liu Qiangdong.
Liu, the founder and CEO of Chinese e-commerce giant JD, was not criminally charged. Authorities in Hennepin County, Minnesota, said they would not file sexual assault charges against Liu because of "profound evidentiary problems" that would have made it tough to build a criminal case last December.
But the accuser, a female student at the University of Minnesota, filed a civil lawsuit against Liu and JD in April, accusing Liu of false imprisonment, civil assault and battery, as well as sexual assault or battery.
The information released on Tuesday included 911 call transcripts, a 149-page case report with narratives, text messages sent from the woman after the alleged rape, surveillance footage and pictures showing the pair together on the night of the incident, and audio of Liu's interview with police.
"Upon completion of the on-scene investigation, it was unclear if a crime had actually taken place, based on statements provided by other officers, as well as the overall environment of the scene," stated a police officer in a report.
"Qiangdong did not understand what was going on, and did not think that he had done anything wrong," an arresting officer wrote.
Liu, who also goes by the first name Richard, said in the audio interview with police that during the entire contact, the female student did not say that she didn't want to have sex with him.
He added that the accuser was sitting to his left at the restaurant, poured wine for him and invited him to her apartment.
"I had no idea (what's going on). Later she talked to the policeman," Liu said. "It's a horrible misunderstanding."
However, in text messages sent from the student after the alleged rape, she wrote that "I was forced. He started to molest me in his vehicle. Then I begged him not to."
She also wrote: "Yesterday I was held down by him. I was not able to set myself free."
A chauffeur of the SUV they were riding in said Liu was "all over this girl". But the woman, who was 21 at the time, told police officers who interviewed her after a friend called them about a possible rape, said that it was "spontaneous sex" and "consensual".
Shortly thereafter, the woman changed her position, and told police she wanted Liu charged with rape. The messages also suggested that she was reluctant to call police because she feared repercussions.
"I asked her (the female student) if she wished to pursue this investigation. She immediately and spontaneously said, 'No, I just want it to go away. I want apology ... and money."
"The evidence released today again reaffirms our strong belief from the very beginning that Mr. Liu is innocent," Jill Brisbois, an attorney for Liu, said in a statement.
