Our Browns almost won yesterday but lost.:Cry: I think I am happy for Paton...rapes??
LeRoy: Here is the lowdown and dirty on the Big Ben rape allegations:
RENO – The civil lawsuit filed by a former Harrah's Lake Tahoe casino host claiming Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger raped her while he was visiting Lake Tahoe for a celebrity golf tournament in 2008 has been resolved.
Ben Roethlisberger's lawyer and agent did not say if the Steelers quarterback paid any money in a lawsuit that was settled Friday.
But neither side will say whether the Super Bowl star paid Andrea McNulty any money as a settlement.
McNulty filed the suit in Washoe District Court in 2009, claiming Roethlisberger lured her into his penthouse suite and forced her to have sex. The suit also named a list of Harrah's employees, claiming they covered up the alleged sexual assault.
In August 2011, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled against Roethlisberger and the other defendants, who had filed motions to move the case out of Reno. The Supreme Court affirmed a judge's ruling that the case should stay in Washoe District Court.
In December, all of the parties in the suit signed stipulations to dismiss the case.
McNulty's lawyer, Cal Dunlap, refused to discuss the terms of the stipulation.
Roethlisberger's lawyer, David Cornwell, and his agent, Ryan Tollner, did not respond to calls and e-mails requesting comment.
McNulty claimed that Roethlisberger asked her to come to his suite to fix his broken television, the suit said. Once in the room, McNulty said he forced her on the bed and raped her, the suit said.
McNulty said she later reported the alleged attack to a Harrah's security chief, but was told that Harrah's President John Koster was friends with Roethlisberger and said most girls would feel lucky to have sex with someone like Roethlisberger, according to the suit.
Lawyers for Roethlisberger and Harrah's denied the claims. In numerous court filings in the months that followed, Cornwell presented e-mails and witness statements that painted McNulty as an emotionally unstable woman who later bragged about the alleged sexual encounter.
Cornwell claimed that McNulty had a history of using sex and lies to get what she wanted and said she was using the suit to extort money from a sports star.
The suit sought general and punitive damages, as well as $380,000 to cover medical expenses for care McNulty claimed she needed to deal with the emotional distress she suffered from the alleged rape.
Roethlisberger faced similar allegations in Georga from a 20-year-old college student in March 2010. The girl accused Roethlisberger of sexually assaulting her after a night of drinking at a bar. Georga authorities investigated the allegations, but no charges were filed.
However, Roethlisberger was suspended for six games for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy. After convincing the NFL commissioner that he had turned his life around, Roethlisberger was allowed back two games early.
