The police have concluded their investigation into the allegations that Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger sexually assaulted a 20-year-old woman and have forwarded their findings to the local district attorney.
From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Milledgeville Police Chief Woodrow W. Blue Jr. today released a statement saying the findings had been sent Tuesday evening to Frederic D. Bright, Ocmulgee Judical Court district attorney.
Mr. Bright will review the findings, consider whether additional investigation and interviews are necessary, and decide whether criminal charges should be filed.
If so, Mr. Bright would take the findings before a grand jury, meaning it could be months before charges, if any, are brought against the Steelers quarterback.
If I had to venture a guess as to what will happen next, I imagine that Big Ben will escape any serious trouble. It seems like there’s a lot of he said, she said involved in this case and it’ll be hard for the DA (or a judge, or a jury) to convict Roethlisberger of anything.
That said, Big Ben’s punishment will come via public embarrassment. This is the second time in the past two years that he has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman and even if he’s not convicted of anything, the Steelers are already leery about the decisions that their franchise quarterback is making off the field. The team is likely having trust issues right now with Roethlisberger and he’s going to have to deal with that whether he’s convicted or not.
Big Ben may dodge a bullet in court, but he’ll have a lot of work to do repairing his imagine in Pittsburgh.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
