Roethlisberger accused of sex assault in lawsuit

[samanthajane13]

RENO, Nev. – Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been accused of sexual assault in a civil lawsuit, his lawyer said, denying the claim.

The lawsuit was filed Friday in Washoe County District Court accusing Roethlisberger of assaulting a woman in July 2008.

Roethlisberger is one of nine defendants listed in the online court docket report. Further details of the lawsuit were not available Tuesday morning.

"Ben has never sexually assaulted anyone ... The timing of the lawsuit and the absence of a criminal complaint and a criminal investigation are the most compelling evidence of the absence of any criminal conduct. If an investigation is commenced, Ben will cooperate fully and Ben will be fully exonerated," David Cornwell, Roethlisberger's lawyer, said in a statement released early Tuesday.

A phone message and e-mail from the AP to Cornwell were not returned.

Attorney Calvin R. Dunlap, of Reno, filed the lawsuit, according to court documents. A telephone message left for him was not returned.

Steelers spokesman Dave Lockett said Tuesday the team is aware of the lawsuit, and "we are gathering information."


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090721/...berger_lawsuit

[samanthajane13]

Roethlisberger accused of sex assault in lawsuit
By SCOTT SONNER, Associated Press Writer Scott Sonner, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 1 min ago

RENO, Nev. – A woman has filed a lawsuit accusing Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger of raping her last summer in his penthouse hotel room at a casino in Lake Tahoe during a celebrity golf tournament.

Roethlisberger's lawyer adamantly denied the allegations Tuesday, and was quick to point out that the woman never went to the authorities.

"Ben has never sexually assaulted anyone. The timing of the lawsuit and the absence of a criminal complaint and a criminal investigation are the most compelling evidence of the absence of any criminal conduct," David Cornwell said in a statement. "If an investigation is commenced, Ben will cooperate fully and Ben will be fully exonerated."

Cornwell did not immediately reply to a phone message and e-mail seeking more comment.

The suit also alleges hotel officials for Harrah's Lake Tahoe went to great lengths to cover up the incident.

It seeks a minimum of $440,000 in damages from the quarterback, at least $50,000 in damages from the Harrah's officials and an unspecified amount of punitive damages "sufficient to deter" Roethlisberger and the others "from engaging in such conduct in the future."

The woman's lawsuit says she didn't file a criminal complaint because she feared Harrah's would side with Roethlisberger and she would be fired.

The Steelers and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said they were looking into the allegations against Roethlisberger, one of the biggest names in sports. He has won two Super Bowls in his five-year career, and is about to report to training camp as the Steelers look to repeat as champions.

The woman was working as an executive casino host last July when she said Roethlisberger struck up a friendly conversation at her desk during the golf tournament.

The next night, she said he telephoned her to tell her his television sound system wasn't working and asked her to look at it. She said she was unable to find a technician so she handled it herself because she had been told it was important to please the celebrities.

In Roethlisberger's room she said she determined the TV was functioning properly but as she turned to leave, the 6-foot-5, 240-pound quarterback blocked her exit, the suit claims.

The lawsuit said he grabbed her and started to kiss her. It said she was "shocked and stunned that this previously friendly man, that appeared to be a gentleman in her previous contacts with him was suddenly preventing her from leaving, was assaulting her and battering her."

She said she feared that because he was a football player he could or would physically harm her if she tried to fight him off, but that she objected and protested several times.

"But instead of stopping, Roethlisberger began fondling plaintiff through her dress and between her legs," the suit said. He then "held her against her will and physically moved plaintiff and pushed her onto his bed" where he raped her, the suit says.

She told him "You don't want to do this," and begged him "I am not on any type of birth control."

Afterward, he asked if there was a security camera in the hallway. She said he then instructed her to claim she had repaired his television if anyone asked why she was in his room.

The lawsuit says the woman required hospitalization for treatment for depression after the alleged attack.

Efforts to reach the woman Tuesday were unsuccessful.

The woman's lawyer, Calvin R. Dunlap, of Reno, declined to answer questions about the lack of a criminal complaint and why the civil action was brought a year after the incident allegedly took place.

"Neither I nor our client will be making any comment," Dunlap said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "We believe the matter should be resolved in court rather than in the media."

Teresa Duffy, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office in Douglas County, which includes part of Lake Tahoe, said no complaints were filed about such an incident either with sheriff's deputies or the district attorney's office.

The lawsuit also names eight Harrah's employees as defendants and alleges the cover-up involved the chief of security at Harrah's Lake Tahoe and was carried out with the knowledge of John Koster, president of Harrah's northern Nevada operations.

John Packer, spokesman for the hotel-casino, did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.

Harrah's Entertainment, the hotel-casino's parent company, declined comment.

"We don't comment on pending legal matters," Jacqueline Peterson said from company headquarters in Las Vegas.

The suit says Harrah's security chief Guy Hyder gained the trust of the woman's parents while she was hospitalized for depression, and persuaded them to give him a key to her home. She said Hyder and others then entered her home and allegedly erased information from her computer and confiscated it.

The lawsuit claims that when the woman first reported the attack to Hyder he dismissed her distress and crying and said she was "overreacting."

The woman said Hyder told her that "most girls would feel lucky to get to have sex with someone like Ben Roethlisberger" and that "Koster would love you even more if he knew about this" because Koster was good friends with Roethlisberger and admired him greatly.

The suit also accuses the defendants of defaming her, including suggesting she was sexually promiscuous.

It said they also made false statements about her physical and mental health, including reportedly telling others she was hospitalized for schizophrenia when they knew her "problems arose out of having been sexually assaulted."

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Tuesday he was looking into the various allegations.

"I don't know enough of the details, but it's a civil lawsuit, it's something that we obviously will look into," he said when asked about it in New York during an unrelated news conference. "I've been in touch with the Steelers about it."

Steelers spokesman Dave Lockett said the team is aware of the lawsuit, and "we are gathering information."

Lockett confirmed that Roethlisberger had canceled a news conference scheduled Thursday to promote Shaquille O'Neal's new TV series that debuts on ABC on Aug. 8, "Shaq Vs." Roethlisberger is one of the top athletes the NBA All-Star center intends to challenge in a series of skills tests in their respective sports.

The Steelers clinched a 27-23 Super Bowl win over the Arizona Cardinals this year when Roethlisberger connected with Santonio Holmes for the game-winning touchdown in the game's closing seconds.

Last week Roethlisberger played in the 20th annual American Century Celebrity Golf Tournament at Lake Tahoe, finishing tied for 30th in the field of 89 golfers. It was not immediately known if he stayed at Harrah's.

In 2006, Roethlisberger made his first public appearance at the tournament after having nearly died in a motorcycle accident the month before.

He had seven hours of facial reconstruction surgery after ramming into a car that turned in front of him on a Pittsburgh street. He broke his jaw and nose and was thrown over the car onto the pavement. He was cited for riding without a license and not wearing a helmet.

__

AP writer Dan Nephin in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090722/...berger_lawsuit

[samanthajane13]

By SCOTT SONNER, Associated Press Writer Scott Sonner, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 41 mins ago

RENO, Nev. – In the last year, Ben Roethlisberger led the Pittsburgh Steelers to a Super Bowl title and solidified his legacy as one of the game's great big-game quarterbacks.

But it's what happened at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe in the summer of 2008 that is the big talk around Steelers camp as the quarterback gets ready to defend the team's championship.

A woman has filed a bombshell lawsuit saying Roethlisberger raped her in a hotel penthouse a year ago, a claim he vehemently denies. The woman never went to the authorities with her story, and it's unclear why she decided to file the lawsuit seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars a full year later.

"Ben has never sexually assaulted anyone. The timing of the lawsuit and the absence of a criminal complaint and a criminal investigation are the most compelling evidence of the absence of any criminal conduct," Roethlisberger lawyer David Cornwell said in a statement. "If an investigation is commenced, Ben will cooperate fully and Ben will be fully exonerated."

He did not immediately reply to a phone message and e-mail seeking more comment.

The stunning allegations served as a major distraction for Roethlisberger as the Steelers get ready to report to camp next week. The Steelers and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said they were looking into the allegations against Roethlisberger, who has won two Super Bowls in his five-year career and is one of the biggest names in sports.

"I don't know enough of the details, but it's a civil lawsuit. It's something that we obviously will look into," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Tuesday when asked about it in New York during an unrelated news conference. "I've been in touch with the Steelers about it."

Steelers spokesman Dave Lockett said the team was aware of the lawsuit, and "we are gathering information."

Lockett confirmed that Roethlisberger had canceled a news conference scheduled for Thursday to promote Shaquille O'Neal's new TV series that debuts Aug. 8 on ABC. Roethlisberger is one of the top athletes the NBA All-Star center intends to challenge in a series of skills tests in their respective sports.

The lawsuit seeks a minimum of $440,000 in damages from the quarterback, at least $50,000 in damages from the Harrah's officials and an unspecified amount of punitive damages "sufficient to deter" Roethlisberger and the others "from engaging in such conduct in the future." The suit alleges hotel officials for Harrah's Lake Tahoe tried to cover up the incident.

The woman's lawsuit says she didn't file a criminal complaint because she feared Harrah's would side with Roethlisberger and she would be fired.

The woman was working as an executive casino host last July when she said Roethlisberger struck up a friendly conversation at her desk during the golf tournament.

The next night, she said he telephoned her to tell her his television sound system wasn't working and asked her to look at it. She said she was unable to find a technician so she handled it herself because she had been told it was important to please the celebrities.

In Roethlisberger's room she said she determined the TV was functioning properly but as she turned to leave, the 6-foot-5, 240-pound quarterback blocked her exit, the suit claims.

The lawsuit said he grabbed her and started to kiss her. It said she was "shocked and stunned that this previously friendly man, that appeared to be a gentleman in her previous contacts with him was suddenly preventing her from leaving, was assaulting her and battering her."

She said she feared that because he was a football player he could or would physically harm her if she tried to fight him off, but that she objected and protested several times.

"But instead of stopping, Roethlisberger began fondling plaintiff through her dress and between her legs," the suit said. He then "held her against her will and physically moved plaintiff and pushed her onto his bed" where he raped her, the suit says.

She told him, "You don't want to do this," and begged him "I am not on any type of birth control."

Afterward, he asked if there was a security camera in the hallway. She said he then instructed her to claim she had repaired his television if anyone asked why she was in his room.

The lawsuit says the woman required hospitalization for treatment for depression after the alleged attack.

Efforts to reach the woman Tuesday were unsuccessful.

The woman's lawyer, Calvin R. Dunlap, declined to answer questions about the lack of a criminal complaint and why the civil action was brought a year after the incident allegedly took place.

"Neither I nor our client will be making any comment," Dunlap said in an e-mail. "We believe the matter should be resolved in court rather than in the media."

Teresa Duffy, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office in Douglas County, which includes part of Lake Tahoe, said no complaints were filed about such an incident either with sheriff's deputies or the district attorney's office.

The lawsuit also names eight Harrah's employees as defendants and alleges the cover-up involved the chief of security at Harrah's Lake Tahoe and was carried out with the knowledge of John Koster, president of Harrah's northern Nevada operations.

John Packer, spokesman for the hotel-casino, did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.

Harrah's Entertainment, the hotel-casino's parent company, declined comment.

"We don't comment on pending legal matters," Jacqueline Peterson said from company headquarters in Las Vegas.

Last week Roethlisberger played in the 20th annual American Century Celebrity Golf Tournament at Lake Tahoe, finishing tied for 30th in the field of 89 golfers. It was not immediately known if he stayed at Harrah's.

__

AP writer Dan Nephin in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090722/...berger_lawsuit

[samanthajane13]

Deputy: No plans to investigate Roethlisberger
By SCOTT SONNER, Associated Press Writer Scott Sonner, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 20 mins ago

RENO, Nev. – Law enforcement officials in Nevada have no intention of opening a criminal investigation into allegations Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger raped a woman at a Lake Tahoe hotel-casino a year ago, the sheriff's department said Wednesday.

Douglas County Sheriff's Deputy Teresa Duffy said the accuser would have to file a criminal complaint to trigger an investigation into the incident the woman says occurred during a celebrity golf tournament last July while she was working as an executive casino host at Harrah's Lake Tahoe.

"The victim is the only one who can do that," Duffy told The Associated Press. "Unless there was a third party that actually witnessed the incident, which according to the civil case, was not the case here," she said.

The 31-year-old woman who was working as a VIP host at Harrah's Lake Tahoe at the time has filed a lawsuit saying Roethlisberger raped her in a hotel penthouse across the street from the golf course, a claim he vehemently denies.

The woman, a native of Canada who had worked at Harrah's since 2003, never went to the authorities with her story, and it's unclear why she decided to file the lawsuit seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars a full year later.

"Ben has never sexually assaulted anyone. The timing of the lawsuit and the absence of a criminal complaint and a criminal investigation are the most compelling evidence of the absence of any criminal conduct," Roethlisberger lawyer David Cornwell said in a statement. "If an investigation is commenced, Ben will cooperate fully and Ben will be fully exonerated."

He did not immediately reply to a phone message and e-mail seeking more comment.

The stunning allegations served as a major distraction for Roethlisberger as the Steelers get ready to report to camp next week. The Steelers and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said they were looking into the allegations against Roethlisberger, who has won two Super Bowls in his five-year career and is one of the biggest names in sports.

"I don't know enough of the details, but it's a civil lawsuit. It's something that we obviously will look into," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Tuesday when asked about it in New York during an unrelated news conference. "I've been in touch with the Steelers about it."

Steelers spokesman Dave Lockett said the team was aware of the lawsuit, and "we are gathering information."

Lockett confirmed that Roethlisberger had canceled a news conference scheduled for Thursday to promote Shaquille O'Neal's new TV series that debuts Aug. 8 on ABC. Roethlisberger is one of the top athletes the NBA All-Star center intends to challenge in a series of skills tests in their respective sports.

The lawsuit seeks a minimum of $440,000 in damages from the quarterback, at least $50,000 in damages from the Harrah's officials and an unspecified amount of punitive damages "sufficient to deter" Roethlisberger and the others "from engaging in such conduct in the future." The suit alleges hotel officials for Harrah's Lake Tahoe tried to cover up the incident.

The woman's lawsuit says she didn't file a criminal complaint because she feared Harrah's would side with Roethlisberger and she would be fired.

The woman said Roethlisberger struck up a friendly conversation at her desk during the golf tournament.

The next night, she said he telephoned her to tell her his television sound system wasn't working and asked her to look at it. She said she was unable to find a technician so she handled it herself because she had been told it was important to please the celebrities.

In Roethlisberger's room she said she determined the TV was functioning properly but as she turned to leave, the 6-foot-5, 240-pound quarterback blocked her exit, the suit claims.

The lawsuit said he grabbed her and started to kiss her. It said she was "shocked and stunned that this previously friendly man, that appeared to be a gentleman in her previous contacts with him was suddenly preventing her from leaving, was assaulting her and battering her."

She said she feared that because he was a football player he could or would physically harm her if she tried to fight him off, but that she objected and protested several times.

"But instead of stopping, Roethlisberger began fondling plaintiff through her dress and between her legs," the suit said. He then "held her against her will and physically moved plaintiff and pushed her onto his bed" where he raped her, the suit says.

She told him, "You don't want to do this," and begged him "I am not on any type of birth control."

Afterward, he asked if there was a security camera in the hallway. She said he then instructed her to claim she had repaired his television if anyone asked why she was in his room.

The lawsuit says the woman required hospitalization for treatment for depression after the alleged attack.

Efforts to reach the woman Tuesday were unsuccessful.

The woman's lawyer, Calvin R. Dunlap, declined to answer questions about the lack of a criminal complaint and why the civil action was brought a year after the incident allegedly took place.

"Neither I nor our client will be making any comment," Dunlap said in an e-mail. "We believe the matter should be resolved in court rather than in the media."

Teresa Duffy, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office in Douglas County, which includes part of Lake Tahoe, said no complaints were filed about such an incident either with sheriff's deputies or the district attorney's office.

The lawsuit also names eight Harrah's employees as defendants and alleges the cover-up involved the chief of security at Harrah's Lake Tahoe and was carried out with the knowledge of John Koster, president of Harrah's northern Nevada operations.

John Packer, spokesman for the hotel-casino, did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.

Harrah's Entertainment, the hotel-casino's parent company, declined comment.

"We don't comment on pending legal matters," Jacqueline Peterson said from company headquarters in Las Vegas.

Last week Roethlisberger played in the 20th annual American Century Celebrity Golf Tournament at Lake Tahoe, finishing tied for 30th in the field of 89 golfers. It was not immediately known if he stayed at Harrah's.

__

AP writer Dan Nephin in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090722/...berger_lawsuit

[samanthajane13]

Roethlisberger says he did not rape casino hostess

PITTSBURGH – Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger says allegations by a Lake Tahoe casino hostess that he raped her a year ago are "reckless and false."

Roethlisberger read a statement Thursday at the Steelers practice complex in Pittsburgh. He did not respond to questions, saying he would let the legal process run its course.

A 31-year-old Nevada woman has filed a civil lawsuit alleging the Super Bowl winning quarterback raped her in a hotel penthouse last year.

Roethlisberger called the accusation "outrageous."

"I would never, ever force myself on a woman," he said.

He said he will fight the lawsuit while remaining focused on the upcoming football season.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is set to speak out today for the first time since being accused of raping a woman at a Lake Tahoe hotel-casino a year ago.

Steelers officials say Roethlisberger will read a statement Thursday afternoon at the Steelers practice complex in Pittsburgh. He is not expected to take any questions.

A 31-year-old Nevada woman has filed a civil lawsuit alleging the Super Bowl winning quarterback raped her in a hotel penthouse last year. Roethlisberger's lawyer vehemently denies the allegations.

Law enforcement officials in Nevada said Wednesday that the woman did not file a criminal complaint after the alleged incident and they do not intend to open a criminal investigation into the matter.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090723/...berger_lawsuit

[samanthajane13]

Roethlisberger says he'll fight rape allegations
By RAMIT PLUSHNICK-MASTI, Associated Press Writer Ramit Plushnick-masti, Associated Press Writer – Thu Jul 23, 7:47 pm ET

PITTSBURGH – Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger vowed Thursday to fight a Lake Tahoe casino hostess' rape allegations against him, calling them "false and vicious."

Roethlisberger was served with a civil lawsuit last weekend when he returned to Lake Tahoe, where a 31-year-old Nevada woman alleges the quarterback raped her in a hotel penthouse in July 2008. Roethlisberger was in Nevada on both occasions to compete in a celebrity golf event.

The woman did not file a criminal complaint.

"Saturday was the first I heard of her accusations," Roethlisberger said. "Her false and vicious allegations are an attack on my family and on me. I would never, ever force myself on a woman."

In his first public comments on the matter, Roethlisberger read a statement at the Steelers practice complex in Pittsburgh. Dressed in a brown pinstriped suit with no tie, Roethlisberger spoke for less than two minutes and did not respond to questions.

Roethlisberger was accompanied by Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin; his agent, Ryan Tollner; and his attorney, David Cornwell. They all left immediately after the statement was read.

Roethlisberger, who is not married, said he would fight what he called "outrageous allegations," but said he would not discuss his private life or the lawsuit in the media.

"The allegations against me are reckless and false," Roethlisberger said. "As much as I'd like to answer everyone's questions, I'm going to respect the legal process and I'm confident that the truth will prevail."

The woman alleges she was working as a VIP casino host at Harrah's Lake Tahoe, and claims the rape took place in Roethlisberger's room after he called her on a bogus complaint about the television.

According to the lawsuit, Harrah's executives have been aware of the allegations for months. It says the woman's lawyer, Cal Dunlap, sent a letter to Harrah's executives on April 2 "informing them of the assault that had taken place on July 11, 2008." It also says Harrah's lawyers responded on April 13 to "dissuade plaintiff from pressing claims against Roethlisberger... and Harrah's."

Cornwell did not immediately return a telephone call or e-mail seeking comment.

Roethlisberger said he would remain focused on the upcoming season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the defending Super Bowl champions.

The Steelers begin their training camp on July 31 at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, a town about 40 miles east of Pittsburgh.

Minutes after Roethlisberger finished his statement, NBA star Shaquille O'Neal walked into the media room in the Steelers' headquarters. Roethlisberger is participating in O'Neal's new reality TV series.

Roethlisberger canceled a news conference to promote the show, but ABC spokesman Edwin Escobar said in an e-mail Wednesday that filming is set for Friday. In the show "Shaq Vs." debuting Aug. 18, Roethlisberger is one of the athletes O'Neal will challenge in their respective sports.

Law enforcement officials in Nevada said Wednesday they do not plan to open a criminal investigation into the alleged incident. Douglas County Sheriff's Deputy Teresa Duffy said the accuser would have to file a criminal complaint to trigger an investigation.

"The victim is the only one who can do that," Duffy told The Associated Press. "Unless there was a third party that actually witnessed the incident which, according to the civil case, was not the case here."

The lawsuit seeks a minimum of $440,000 in damages from the quarterback, at least $50,000 in damages from the Harrah's officials and an unspecified amount of punitive damages.

The lawsuit says the woman didn't file a criminal complaint because she feared Harrah's would side with Roethlisberger and she would be fired. The suit doesn't say whether the woman is still working for Harrah's.

The suit also alleges hotel officials for Harrah's Lake Tahoe went to great lengths to cover up the incident.

The lawsuit says the woman required hospitalization for treatment for depression after the alleged attack.

Earlier this week, Cornwell issued a statement on Roethlisberger's behalf saying, "Ben has never sexually assaulted anyone. The timing of the lawsuit and the absence of a criminal complaint and a criminal investigation are the most compelling evidence of the absence of any criminal conduct."

Roethlisberger's touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes with 35 seconds to play lifted the Steelers to a 27-23 Super Bowl victory over the Arizona Cardinals in February. Roethlisberger is one of only two quarterbacks in NFL history, along with the Patriots' Tom Brady, to win two Super Bowls by the age of 26.

__

AP writer Scott Sonner in Reno, Nev., contributed to this report.


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