Roethlisberger accuser files a rebuttal
Thursday, September 10, 2009
By Dan Majors and Jonathan D. Silver, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
[url="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09253/996975-66.stm"]http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09253/996975-66.stm[/url]
The woman who filed suit against Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger claiming he sexually assaulted her strongly denied in a sworn statement yesterday that she ever told co-workers at Harrah's Lake Tahoe that the sex was consensual.
"I absolutely never said ... that the encounter with Ben Roethlisberger was the 'best ever' ... or that it was 'soooo good,' or words to that effect," the plaintiff said in a 54-page affidavit filed yesterday with Washoe County Court in Reno, Nev.
"I never said that I was 'excited' and 'hoping for a baby Roethlisberger,' " the 31-year-old woman said.
She also said that e-mails and text messages released by Mr. Roethlisberger's attorneys, casting her as a willing participant, had been taken out of context.
Also yesterday, the woman's attorney added Harrah's as a defendant in the case and provided an affidavit from a Harrah's co-worker who said the plaintiff told him she had been assaulted "shortly after" the alleged incident.
The plaintiff's response to previous court filings came on the same day that Mr. Roethlisberger's lawyer rejected a proposal from her attorney offering to settle the civil lawsuit.
In a two-paragraph statement, William D. Cornwell Sr. called the settlement offer from the plaintiff "bizarre" and a "destructive farce."
He also said he would pursue sanctions against the plaintiff's attorney, Calvin R.X. Dunlap.
The plaintiff's "contemporaneous statements and conduct prove her allegations are false. Against this backdrop, her proposal is bizarre and it insults women who have legitimately suffered from sexual misconduct. We will not participate in a destructive farce," Mr. Cornwell said in his statement.
"We offered [the plaintiff] a graceful exit. Apparently, Mr. Dunlap convinced her that they can dig themselves out of this rancid hole. The 'settlement' offer is rejected. We will continue to press our defenses and claims and pursue our application for sanctions."
The plaintiff's attorney had offered to drop the lawsuit if Mr. Roethlisberger admitted assaulting the plaintiff, wrote a letter of apology, and made a $100,000 donation to a Reno group that aids abused women.
The latest volleys are part of a continuing war of words between the two sides.
Mr. Roethlisberger's lawyers have accused the plaintiff of trying to extort their client. Mr. Dunlap has accused the quarterback and his legal team of trying to intimidate her into dropping her suit.
The woman sued Mr. Roethlisberger, 27, in Washoe County, Nev. and accused him of assaulting her in his room at Harrah's Lake Tahoe in July 2008 during a celebrity golf tournament.
She also has sued eight current or former Harrah's employees, accusing them of ignoring her complaints or trying to cover up the alleged incident.
Mr. Roethlisberger denies the allegations. The Post-Gazette does not name accusers in sexual assault cases.
In yesterday's affidavit, the plaintiff said she learned that two employees of Cabo Wabo, a bar and restaurant owned by Harrah's, had been fired because of a complaint from Mr. Roethlisberger.
"I became anxious and concerned that both a waitress and a manager would be fired for displeasing Ben Roethlisberger," she said.
Because of that, she said, when Mr. Roethlisberger called her to come to his room to fix his television, "I was concerned that if I did not have the problem fixed that I, too, would be reported ... and, consequently, could be terminated."
It was when she went into Mr. Roethlisberger's room, she said, that he allegedly assaulted her.
She also said, "contrary to claims of Roethlisberger, his witnesses and his counsel suggesting that I was happy to be pregnant, I [purchased and took] 'The Morning After Pill.' It cost $44. I took it and reported to work later.
"I did not want the child of this awful man who had fraudulently induced me to come to his room, then had sex with me against my will."
The testimony in support of her came from Wyle Cordes of Zephyr Cove, Nev., a butler at Harrah's who for 10 months shared a home with the plaintiff, including the time of the alleged assault.
"Shortly after July 11, 2008, [the plaintiff] told me about the incident involving Ben Roethlisberger," Mr. Cordes said in his affidavit dated Sept. 2, 2009. "She appeared shocked by the incident.
"Her allegations regarding what Ben Roethlisberger did ... are consistent with the same facts that [she] told me about what Ben Roethlisberger had done to her related to me shortly after the events."
The addition of Harrah's to the lawsuit, according to the plaintiff's lawyer, is a response to defense arguments that Harrah's was an "indispensable party" to the case.
Harrah's officials would not comment last night, but in an April 13 letter to Mr. Dunlap denied any fault in the matter.
"Harrah's has clearly engaged in no wrongdoing, and has no liability whatsoever in these circumstances," Susan Heaney Hilden of Littler Mendelson law firm, representing Harrah's, said in a letter filed by Mr. Dunlap yesterday.
"Harrah's had no notice that Mr. Roethlisberger would engage in a sexual assault, and no reason to know that a sexual assault had allegedly occurred. [The plaintiff] failed to report a sexual assault."
The case has been assigned to Second Judicial District Court Judge Brent Adams, who will rule on several motions to dismiss and change-of-venue requests. No hearing dates have been set.
Dan Majors can be reached at [email="dmajors@post-gazette.com"]dmajors@post-gazette.com[/email] or 412-263-1456.
First published on September 10, 2009 at 12:00 am
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