The following article was written by Spencer Wingate.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s sexual assault case in Lake Tahoe, Nevada has been officially dismissed. Last month the plaintiff, Andrea McNulty, dropped all claims in her civil law suit. Her attorney, Cal Dunlap filed court papers on November 30, 2011 with Washoe District Court for the case to be dismissed. All parties signed documents that a settlement had been reached. Judge Brent Adams formally dismissed all the claims and counterclaims on December 27, 2011. Dunlap would not comment if McNulty received any money. Neither would David Cornwell, Roethlisberger’s attorney.
Andrea McNulty formerly worked as VIP concierge for Harrah’s Lake Tahoe Hotel, where she met Roethlisberger. He was staying at the hotel while participating in a celebrity golf tournament in July 2008. According to McNulty’s suit, Roethlisberger came by her desk on the night of July 11, 2008 and asked if she could fix his television. McNulty claimed that once she entered the suite, nothing was wrong with the television. When she went to leave, Roethlisberger blocked the door. He allegedly began kissing and fondling her before shoving her onto the bed. The complaint then graphically describes how Roethlisberger forced himself onto her.
McNulty claimed she told Harrah’s security chief she was raped, but he never investigated it since the hotel’s president is good friends with Roethlisberger. When Roethlisberger returned to play in another golf tournament in July 2009, he was charged with the civil lawsuit along with nine other Harrah’s employees. McNulty sought punitive and general damages due to mental distress following the incident. Roethlisberger adamantly denied the charges from the beginning. McNulty never filed criminal charges and Nevada had no record of a criminal complaint. The case was simply her word against his word. Cornwell portrayed McNulty as an unstable extortionist in the case. Both Cornwell and Dunlap became engaged in numerous court filings on behalf of their clients before stipulations where signed to have the case dismissed.
Roethlisberger was charged with a second sexual assault allegation in 2010 by a twenty year old college student. The woman alleged that Roethlisberger had assaulted her in a restroom. The incident occurred in Milledgeville, Georgia but authorities’ investigation never resulted in any criminal charges. However, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended the two time Super Bowl champion for the first six games of the 2010 season. Roethlisberger demonstrated to Goodell that he had turned his life around and had the suspension reduced to four games. In July 2011, Roethlisberger married Ashley Harlan in a private ceremony. Since then, he has stayed out of trouble and it seems Roethlisberger has turned away from his checkered past.