Report: Patrick Kane Is The Subject Of A Rape Investigation [Updates]

The that Hamburg, N.Y., police are investigating some sort of incident, and two sources tell the paper that incident involved Blackhawks star Patrick Kane. And that’s literally all we know right now. (See updates below.)

Two sources said Hamburg police officials have forbidden their officers and detectives from publicly discussing the investigation.

“We can neither confirm nor deny the existence or nonexistence of a criminal investigation until such a time as a person is charged with a crime,” said Hamburg Police Chief Gregory G. Wickett.

Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III used very similar language when asked about an investigation.

Hamburg, outside of Buffalo, is where Kane makes his home in the offseason. It’s in that area where Kane racked up his only known arrest: in 2009 he was booked for punching a taxi driver in a dispute over 20 cents change. He was indicted on assault, theft, and harassment charges, and later pleaded down to disorderly conduct. In 2012, Kane was accused by multiple witnesses of attempting to choke a woman at a frat party in Madison, Wisc.

The News’s reporting seems to indicate that whatever happened this time, happened over the weekend—in a break with accepted practice, the police chief denied the paper access to the weekend’s police blotter.

The News has filed a pair of FOIL request for those police logs and for any reports involving Kane, but that could take weeks. In the meantime, the News is going public with as much as it can for one of two potential reasons (or both): to put pressure on the stonewalling cops to say something, or to stake their claim to a story before someone else gets it.

So if you’re from the area and have heard anything, please let us know.

Update, 10:28 a.m.: WKBW-TV in Buffalo cites sources claiming police are “investigating an alleged incident involving...Kane and a woman that began at a bar in Evans.”

Update, 11:27 a.m.: From the Buffalo News’ Tim Graham:

The NHL tells WIVB-TV that “we are aware of a police investigation and are following the developments.”

Update, 12:39 p.m.: The Buffalo News has just published a report, citing police sources who say Kane is being investigated for rape. They provide a few alleged details:

Patrick Kane, the star player of the Chicago Blackhawks who grew up in South Buffalo, is the target of a rape investigation by Hamburg police for an incident that occurred over the last weekend, two law enforcement sources have told The Buffalo News.

A local woman has accused Kane of a sexual assault, the sources said.

The law enforcement sources said that the woman went to a hospital and that tests using a rape kit were performed.

Kane hasn’t been charged with a crime.