Rachel Axon

USA TODAY Sports

Florida State is proceeding with a school investigation of Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jameis Winston related to the alleged rape of a fellow FSU student in 2012, an attorney for the woman told USA TODAY Sports.

Florida State officials traveled to where the woman lives in early August to interview her for the first time since she reported the alleged assault to police in Dec. 2012.

"They assured us that the Title IX process was going to move forward," said John Clune, a Title IX attorney representing the woman. "The interview went pretty well. I think it was a positive experience, and everyone felt like the university was taking it very seriously."

Clune said the lengthy interview with his client gave FSU more information than it previously had from the Tallahassee police department investigation. He said FSU officials interviewed two other people but that he does not know if Winston has been interviewed.

"We expect that there will be code of conduct charges that will be brought," he said. "There's no basis not to bring those charges now."

David Cornwell, an Atlanta attorney who is an advisor to Winston and his family, told USA TODAY Sports he expects the investigation to reach a similar outcome as the one conducted by the state attorney that ended in December 2013 without charges being filed against Winston.

"There is clearly a Title IX investigation commenced. There's no question, but it's not because the university did something wrong. It's not because these Colorado lawyers forced them to do something. It is because (the woman) refused to be interviewed previously and now she's willing to be. That's the only reason.

"Secondly, there's a Title IX process going on. It doesn't matter because we expect this process to have the same results as the prior ones did, which is no wrongdoing."

Clune says his client has said she would cooperate with an investigation since the university approached her in October 2013 and he has reiterated that willingness over the past several months.

Citing federal privacy laws, Florida State spokeswoman Browning Brooks said the school could not discuss an individual students' case. "While we cannot comment on any individual case, in general, complainants control the timing in our process," she said.

The New York Times first reported news of the FSU investigation earlier Thursday.

The woman filed a complaint with the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, which opened an investigation of how FSU handles sexual assaults in April. That investigation is ongoing.

Under Title IX, schools are required to investigate and adjudicate cases of sexual harassment and violence regardless of the outcome of any criminal investigation. If Winston did face code of conduct charges from the university, a decision regarding responsibility would be made based on a "preponderance of the evidence" standard, in accordance with federal guidelines.

OCR also advises Title IX investigations should take no longer than 60 day to complete.

Florida State did not meet with Winston until January, more than a year after the alleged assault and a few weeks after he led the Seminoles to a BCS national championship and unbeaten season.

Baine Kerr, a Title IX attorney for the woman, told USA TODAY Sports in April that FSU suspended its investigation, at least in part, because Winston refused to answer questions.

The woman left school in November as news of the rape allegation dominated national headlines.

"It's unfortunate that it's happening so late because it would have been nice to see this happen at a time that it might have been of help to our client," said Clune. "But we're encouraged that they seem to be taking this seriously and she'll certainly help with whatever they need."

Clune said he expects to hear shortly what the next steps could be in the case. FSU's inquiry related to Winston comes as the Seminoles beat Oklahoma State to open the season on Saturday. They remain atop the Amway Coaches Poll and Winston remains a contender to repeat as a Heisman Trophy winner.

FSU faces The Citadel on Saturday before its bye week on Sept. 14.

"I think the issue is there are definitely some people at this university that really want to do the right thing and want to comply with the law," said Clune. "But it seems like there's a power struggle between those folks and people that would be just fine to just see this go away.

"We're dealing with one of the most powerful athletic departments in the country with the No. 1 football team in the nation and I think we'll know very shortly how much control that athletic department has."

During the criminal investigation, Winston said through his lawyer that the sexual encounter was consensual. He did not answer questions from Tallahassee police or the state attorney's office during that inquiry.

Two of Winston's teammates faced code of conduct charges from the school related to their involvement. Chris Casher and Ronald Darby provided sworn affidavits during the criminal investigation that they had witnessed the encounter.

In an interview with TPD, Casher said he had recorded it on his phone but had deleted it and no longer had that phone.

After a hearing in May, Darby was found not responsible for the two code of conduct charges he faced. According to the Wall Street Journal, Casher was found responsible for "acts that invade privacy of another person" and "recording images without consent," for which he received a year of probation.

On Wednesday, the school launched an initiative called kNOw MORE to address sexual assaults on campus. With a focus on preventing sexual violence, the campaign seeks to educate students, faculty and staff about the meaning of consent, prevention, intervention and provide resources for sexual assault victims.

Clune called increasing awareness and talking about the issues constructive steps.

"It's a start. It's a good thing," he said. "The initiative that they've launched is something that is needed there, and ultimately what has to happen at some of these schools is really a fundamental change of climate on campus.

"The school has more that they need to do to change their policies, and they know that, but I don't want to take away from the initiative they launched yesterday."