Grand jury indicts Ray McDonald for rape

The Santa Clara County (Calif.) Grand Jury indicted former Bears defensive end Ray McDonald on suspicion of raping an intoxicated woman in December, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

McDonald was accused of rape during a pool party he hosted Dec. 15. He was never arrested, but it prompted his release from the 49ers, who cited a series of bad decision-making.

McDonald later sued the victim for defamation.

The Bears signed McDonald in March but released him on Memorial Day after he was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence and child endangerment. He is not employed by any NFL team.

McDonald said in April that he felt he “didn’t do anything wrong” in December or August, when he was arrested on suspicion of felony domestic violence.

“People can put out stuff there that’s not very credible, and it can assassinate someone’s character by doing that,” he said after a voluntary veteran minicamp practice at Halas Hall.

Bears owner George McCaskey defended the Bears’ decision to sign McDonald at the time, saying the Bears were prompted by defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who worked with him in San Francisco.

Earlier this month, Fangio took the blame.

“The only thing I regret is, because it didn’t work out, the club put their faith in my recommendation — that (chairman) George (McCaskey) and (GM) Ryan (Pace) and (coach) John (Fox) took some hits from (the media),” he said Aug. 7. “Really, (the media) should have been hitting me, not them.”

The grand jury indicted McDonald for violating a May 27 domestic violence restraining order, too. That occurred two days after the arrest that prompted his release from the Bears.

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Email: pfinley@suntimes.com