Tag: Ben Roethlisberger sexual assault (Page 3 of 4)

Big Ben announcement coming on Monday

The DA will announce a decision on Ben Roethlisberger’s sexual assault case on Monday by 2:00PM ET, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting.

Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit District Attorney Fredric D. Bright this morning announced that he had completed his review of the investigation into a sexual assault accusation against Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, and will announce his decision on whether to file charges Monday afternoon.

“The investigation, interviews and report in the Roethlisberger matter have been completed and reviewed,” Mr. Bright said in a statement.

“We will be announcing the decision in this case in a news conference to be held on Monday, April 12, 2010, at 2 p.m. in the Baldwin County Courthouse.”

I’m not a lawyer, but I would be surprised if Roethlisberger gets into serious trouble. Unless there are witnesses that saw her being forced into the bathroom, then all anyone has is a bunch of he said, she said claims. And if she was drinking that night, it’ll be even harder for her to prove that Roethlisberger did anything wrong.

If he did sexually assault her, I hope he’s convicted. But I think it’s going to be hard for her to prove that seeing as how the two of them were alone in a bathroom together.

That said, if Big Ben is indicted, then he could face stiff punishment from the NFL. Michael Vick was indicted for dog fighting and the league suspended him indefinitely. I’m not saying the same thing will happen with Roethlisberger, but he’s about to have an interesting next couple of months.


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Police send findings in Big Ben case to DA

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.


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Woman being uncooperative in Roethlisberger case

According to KDKA 2 in Pittsburgh, the women accusing Steelers’ QB Ben Roethlisberger of sexual assault has declined to be re-interviewed by the police. She has already skipped one interview, so it appears that the case is falling apart.

Not only do prosecutors apparently not have any physical evidence of a crime, they may also be lacking a cooperating victim at this point.

Sources close to the investigation say that investigators have had trouble re-interviewing the woman since the night of the incident.

Sources say the 20-year-old co-ed did not show up for a scheduled interview a week ago yesterday and that as of Friday she still had not come in to be questioned.

Del Greco says if the victim does not cooperate, the case falls apart.

“Bottom line is no cooperative victim under these circumstances, probably no crime,” he said.

It’s very possible that the young woman is so traumatized by the situation that she is afraid and embarrassed to come forward. But why would she make these allegations in the first place if she wasn’t prepared to step forward and do what’s necessary to ensure that these charges go through?

If Roethlisberger is guilty of something, then I hope that the woman finds the strength and courage to step up and be interviewed by police. But as of right now, it’s hard not to draw conclusions that Big Ben did nothing wrong and this is just another case of someone looking for a big pay off from an athlete.

Update: The alleged victim’s lawyer is now saying that his client will cooperate with police and that she will re-schedule the interview.


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Goodell to meet with Roethlisberger

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced on Monday evening that he will meet with Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger to discuss the latest allegations of sexual assault that have been made against the QB.

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

“First, I think the most important thing is we take the issue very seriously,” Goodell said during his first press conference of the NFL meetings being held here this week.

“We are concerned that Ben continues to put himself in this position. I have spoken to the Steelers. I have spoken to Art Rooney directly about it. And at the appropriate time I will be meeting with Ben.”

Charges haven’t been filed against Roethlisberger yet, but that doesn’t mean that he will escape discipline even if he’s ultimately never charged. If Goodell feels as though a player has sullied the image of the NFL logo, he will hand out punishment.


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Mike Tomlin concerned about Steelers’ franchise, Big Ben

During a recent interview with the NFL Network’s Jennifer Allen, head coach Mike Tomlin expressed concern over the state of the Steelers’ franchise, as well as for quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

From NFL.com:

Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin expressed anxiety over the sexual-assault allegation leveled at quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, telling NFL Network’s Jennifer Allen on Saturday, “I’m highly concerned for our franchise and for Ben personally.”

“My concerns are many, but I think at this time it’s kind of appropriate to watch these things and let these things run their course,” Tomlin said after arriving in Orlando, Fla., for the NFL Annual Meeting, which starts Monday. “I think it would be inappropriate for me to have strong feelings one way or another with the investigation being ongoing and so forth. Like everyone else, you watch these things unfold.”

Tomlin and the Steelers are doing the right thing by letting the legal process work itself out when it comes to Roethlisberger’s situation. But the reality is that the organization should be concerned. Its starting quarterback has been accused of sexual assault twice in the last year and a half and while he may have not done anything wrong in either incident, this is the third time in the last four offseasons were Big Ben has gotten into some kind of off-field complication.

It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that Roethlisberger’s future in Pittsburgh is in doubt.


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