Roethlisberger's accuser said 'no'
Associated Press
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MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — The young woman who accused Ben Roethlisberger of sexual assault said she tried to get away from the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback and told him "no, this is not OK," according to police documents released yesterday.
In a statement to police the day after the encounter, the 20-year-old college student said Roethlisberger told her, and her friends, to take numerous shots of alcohol. Then one of his bodyguards escorted her into a hallway at the Capital City nightclub, sat her on a stool and left. She said Roethlisberger walked down the hallway and exposed himself.
"I told him it wasn't OK, no, we don't need to do this and I proceeded to get up and try to leave," she said. "I went to the first door I saw, which happened to be a bathroom."
According to her statement, Roethlisberger then followed her into the bathroom and shut the door.
"I still said no, this is not OK, and he then had sex with me," she wrote. "He said it was OK. He then left without saying anything."
Two of the woman's friends said they saw the bodyguard lead her into the hallway and then saw Roethlisberger follow. They said they couldn't see their friend but knew she was drunk and were worried about her.
Later, the friends said they saw Roethlisberger leave the hallway. When the woman came back, the friends said they asked her what happened and urged her to alert police.
Earlier this week, prosecutors said no charges would be filed against Roethlisberger, who has denied the accusations through his attorney.
Meanwhile in Pittsburgh yesterday, Steelers president Art Rooney II says the team is ready to discipline Roethlisberger but the punishment will be coordinated with the NFL and won't pre-empt any league action.
Rooney said yesterday that Roethlisberger told him he is prepared to accept disciplinary action. The Steelers likely would have acted by now, but Rooney said the NFL's labor agreement makes that difficult.
"When we get to the point where we have agreed with the commissioner on what that action will be, that's when it will be imposed," Rooney said during his first news conference concerning the Roethlisberger case.
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