Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Big Ben reaches settlement on sexual assault lawsuit-NFL News Update
Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, has avoided facing any further charges of an alleged sexual assault on a casino employee as counsel of the complainant confirmed on Friday, January 20, 2012, that they have reached a settlement with the
player.
Roethlisberger, also known as a Big Ben, was accused of raping the VIP hostess at the Lake Tahoe Hotel-Casino, Andrea McNulty, back in 2008.
McNulty said that the player lured her into his room on pretense of seeking help to fix his television and raped her instead. The player was in town to play a celebrity golf tournament.
The complainant also made the hotel’s employees parties in her civil lawsuit, alleging them of covering up the attack.
The incident happened in July of 2008 and the case has been in court since then and now in latest developments, lawyers from both parties were reported on Friday to have settled the issue.
"The matter has been resolved and I have no further comment", the complainant’s lawyer said.
Earlier, the Nevada Supreme Court had dismissed Big Ben’s appeal of allowing the case to be transferred from Reno to Carson City, near the place where the alleged assault took place.
The settlement of the lawsuit includes dismissal of the allegations against the employees of the hotel.
Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
In her suit, which had been filed in 2009, the alleged rape victim had claimed $440,000 in damages from Roethlisberger and another $50,000 from the Casino officials.
An undisclosed amount against punitive damages was in addition to the compensation sought.
The quarterback had always denied the charges.
Reports said that the lawyer of the player, David Cornwell, and his agent, Ryan Tollner, have not commented on the latest development on the suit.
The complainant lawyer is reported to have filled papers before Washoe District Court Judge, Brent Adams, in November of last year, requesting lifting of the stay on her client to pave the way for dismissal of the case as a settlement was pending.
The judge has reportedly dismissed the case on December 27, 2011. It was made public on Friday.
Apparently, there are no comments from the player himself or his legal and professional representatives, so far.
Big Ben is a start QB of the Pittsburgh Steelers and has always been at the front of their victories, including the 2011 National Football League (NFL) regular season.
Only lately has he suffered an injury scare on his ankle and has missed a couple of games, while performing below his potential in a couple more.
All those games were in the later part of the season and did not affect his side’s chances of going into the postseason round.
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