A Nevada woman claims in a lawsuit that Ben Roethlisberger raped her last year at a Lake Tahoe resort, accusations the Steelers quarterback has denied.
The incident happened at Harrah's Lake Tahoe Hotel and Casino, where the woman works as the resort's VIP services manager, the lawsuit states.
The resort plays host to the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship, an event Roethlisberger has attended several times. The Tribune-Review doesn't identify alleged victims of sexual assault.
"Ben has never sexually assaulted anyone," said David Cornwell Sr., the quarterback's Atlanta-based lawyer. "The timing of the lawsuit and the absence of a criminal complaint and a criminal investigation are the most compelling evidence of the absence of any criminal conduct. If an investigation is commenced, Ben will cooperate fully, and Ben will be fully exonerated."
The lawsuit states the woman met Roethlisberger several times at the resort. On July 11, 2008, Roethlisberger asked the woman to come to his 17th floor suite to fix a television.
After discovering the television worked perfectly, Roethlisberger blocked the doorway with his body, the lawsuit states.
Uninvited kissing turned to groping before Roethlisberger pushed the woman to the bed and raped her, the lawsuit alleges.
"You don't want to do this," the woman allegedly said. "Please don't." Continue