MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. -- Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's lawyer told Channel 4 Action News that "there was absolutely no criminal conduct" on his client's behalf in relation to a sexual assault claim by a young 20-year-old woman at a nightclub.
Roethlisberger has not been charged with any crimes, but he has hired Ed Garland -- the same person who defended Baltimore Ravens star Ray Lewis on a 2000 murder charge in Atlanta that was eventually dropped. Garland also represented Lewis' then-teammate, Jamal Lewis, on federal drug charges in 2004.
WTAE Channel 4 Action News reporter Ari Hait asked Garland why Roethlisberger would need representation if nothing criminal was done on his part.
"Well, everyone always says that, but you have to understand that there are all kinds of implications from any kind of accusation," said Garland.
Video - 
Ari Hait Talks With Ben Roethlisberger's Lawyer Garland said he will make sure Roethlisberger is protected and advise him during the police investigation.
"We have agreed to cooperate and we are providing witnesses and making them available to the prosecution," said Garland.
He added that his office is conducting its own investigation, and he would not say if he'll make Roethlisberger available to police for an interview or a DNA sample.
"I'm not going to make a statement about that one way or the other. That's the approach we are taking in this case," said Garland.
The 20-year-old woman who's accusing Roethlisberger was a Georgia College & State University student at the time. She has reportedly left school now, and her lawyer is asking the media for privacy.
Hait was at a brief news conference Monday in Milledgeville, where police said they expect to interview as many as eight people this week regarding the woman's claim of what happened to her at the Capital City nightclub.
"We anticipate interviewing him (Roethlisberger) in the next couple of days," said
Milledgeville Police Chief Woodrow Blue, who added that a DNA sample will be requested from the two-time Super Bowl winner.
"All of us in the Steelers family are concerned about the recent incident involving Ben Roethlisberger in Georgia," team president Art Rooney II said in a written statement Monday. We cannot comment on any of the specifics until law enforcement’s investigation is concluded. Certainly, we will continue to closely monitor the situation."
In a previous written statement, Garland said, "The facts show that there was no criminal activity. No sexual assault occurred. We are cooperating with the investigation. Ben is completely innocent of any crime. The truth of the events should cause this investigation to end without a criminal charge. I will not go into details at this time, but will in the future."
By many accounts from local people, Roethlisberger wound up at the club early Friday morning after spending Thursday night hopping around the area's hotspots with his friends. They said he was in a celebratory mood after turning 28 a few days earlier.
"We're still in the process of looking at various businesses in Milledgeville and videos that they have," said Special Agent Tom Davis, of the
Georgia Bureau of Investigation. "We are aware of that and that has been looked into, but as far as what the contents are, we're not going to go into anything dealing with any of the investigative facts that have been done at this particular time."
Milledgeville Deputy Police Chief Richard Malone has said that Roethlisberger was identified as one of many people at the bar where the alleged assault, and "there are allegations naming him as the perpetrator," he said.
According to a statement from Roethlisberger's agent, Ryan Tollner, the quarterback and some of his friends met a group of women and all "mingled together" Thursday night. The statement also said that Tollner is "skeptical" of a motive in this case.
(Scroll down to read his entire statement.)"There was an initial interview with (Roethlisberger), as well as the victim in the case," Malone said. "Then our consideration was to seek proper attention for the victim and start collecting evidence, and that's where we are now -- also collecting additional information in the case."
"What we've been able to determine is they had all been together earlier that evening at other establishments as a group," Malone said.
The young woman who reported the sex assault received care in Oconee Regional Medical Center, according to detectives. When a reporter asked if she submitted to a blood-alcohol test, Davis said he wasn't sure.
"As far as what her demeanor was or what her emotional state was, that's not something we will discuss out here," said Davis.
Fans, Friends, Witnesses Weigh In On Case
Here are some of the comments on WTAE Channel 4's Facebook wall:
- "ben ya broke my heart, ive defended you in the other case, and now this..disappointing"
- "should have never dumped NATALIE...."
- "Ben needs to chose better people to hang out with and not put himself in these situations!"
- "I think he is so full of himself. And he obviously doesn't respect women!!"
Residents in the small Milledgeville community are sharing their opinions about what they think happened inside the Capital City nightclub early Friday morning.
Dan Kaufman is a friend of the alleged victim and said he is sure she is not making it up.
“Knowing her, absolutely not. Absolutely not. That’s not something she would do,” Kaufman said.
David Martino said he was at the nightclub on the night in question. He told Hait that he didn't recognize the Steelers quarterback, but he did notice when Roethlisberger went into a VIP room and bodyguards started inviting women in side.
"They were telling girls, 'If you want come in for free drinks.' They were very polite. They could go in and have drinks. And they were going in and out all night," Martino said.
Martino told Hait at least two dozen women joined Roethlisberger throughout the night, including Roethlisberger's accuser. He also said he was there when the night ended.
"There was a little commotion going on. One of the girls got really excited and evidently called the police and the police came," Martino said.
Kaufman said anyone who doubts the alleged victim's story should look at her life now. Kaufman told Hait she has shut down her Facebook page and has practically gone into hiding.
"You know, she's got tons of friends and now, you know, she's having to go away. She can't talk to all her friends. She's probably turned off her phone, dropped contact with everyone she can. Who wants to do that to themselves?" Kaufman said.
Channel 4 Action News contacted two witnesses who are listed on the Milledgeville police report about this incident. One said she could not talk about the case. The other hung up the phone.
On Friday night, Georgia College and State University issued the following statement:
We have been informed that a Georgia College student reportedly was the victim of a sexual assault off campus. It is under investigation by the Milledgeville Police Department. We are very concerned about this incident, and we are making counseling services available to any students who request the services. The university cannot comment further on the incident while it is under investigation.Roethlisberger has a home in a resort community that is about 30 minutes away from the Milledgeville nightclub.
"He came in with a group of his friends -- good spirits, good mood, looked like a bunch of college friends coming to hang out for the evening," said Frank Pendergast, manager of
The Brick restaurant, a few blocks away from Capital City and one of several clubs Roethlisberger visited that night.
"He was buying rounds for his friends, probably eight or nine of his friends that were there. It sounds like they were in playing golf earlier in the day. I didn't think Ben was actually doing a whole lot of drinking. He was actually quite polite. I didn't spend my whole evening talking to him but there was nothing out of the ordinary," Pendergast said.
Agent 'Skeptical' Because Of Previous Pending Claim
Roethlisberger is named in an ongoing lawsuit in Nevada by Andrea McNulty, who claims he forced her to have sex in his penthouse suite at Harrah's Lake Tahoe in 2008.
Roethlisberger has denied McNulty's claims, and
in a brief news conference after the lawsuit was filed, he said, "I would never force myself on a woman."
His agent, Ryan Tollner, released this written statement early Friday evening:
"Last night, Ben and his friends met a group of women and everyone mingled together throughout the evening. We have spoken to law enforcement. Based on information currently available, an allegation was made against Ben, which appeared to be dismissed after a preliminary investigation last night. Obviously, given the prior accusation against Ben, we are skeptical of motive, but we will continue to cooperate with everyone involved."
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