Prosecutors Drop Sexual Battery Charges

Prosecutors dropped three sexual battery charges against Jackson Mahomes — TikTok influencer and brother of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes — after the woman he allegedly forcibly kissed declined to testify.

According to The Associated Press, the charges were dropped Wednesday, Jan. 3, after Johnson County Assistant DA Megan Ahsens filed a motion Tuesday. Jackson is still facing one count of misdemeanor battery, to which he has pleaded not guilty. 

Mahomes’ lawyer, Brandan Davies, said the 23-year-old “has done nothing wrong,” adding, “We had full confidence that the truth of the matter would ultimately revealed.” The Johnson County DA’s office did not immediately return Rolling Stone’s request for comment. 

Mahomes was arrested in May 2023, though the alleged incident occurred at the Aspen’s Restaurant and Lounge in Overland Park, outside Kansas City, in February. Mahomes was accused of trying to forcibly kiss the restaurant owner, Aspen Vaughn, as well as shoving a waiter. (The latter incident is where the misdemeanor battery charge stems from.)

While Vaughn spoke publicly about the alleged incident with the press and even shared surveillance footage of Mahomes allegedly trying to kiss her without her consent, she ultimately declined to serve as a witness. Prosecutors said they received an affidavit from her lawyer saying she would not testify, while subpoenas were also not sent to her. 

“Indeed, it has become clear to the State, through conversations with more than one person in contact with her, that [Vaughn] is actively thwarting attempts to serve her to avoid coming to court,” the motion to dismiss read.

In the months following Mahomes’ arrest, Vaughn said she faced death threats and harassment and claimed her restaurant was vandalized as well. She said she believed someone had cut the restaurant’s central air unit, damaged its gas lines, and pulled a fire alarm, which caused water damage. She closed the restaurant in August, according to The Kansas City Star. 

“I feel like definitely, since it’s occurred, my safety is definitely at risk,” she told The Star over the summer. “I’m feeling attacked by people I’ve never met. Why do victims not come forward? It’s because this is how they get treated.”