Ben Roethlisberger Rape Settlement: Steelers QB Settles Lawsuit Alleging 2008 Rape At Lake Tahoe Hotel

RENO, Nev. -- Lawyers for Ben Roethlisberger and a woman who accused him of raping her at a Lake Tahoe hotel-casino in 2008 have reached a settlement that ends her civil lawsuit against the Steelers quarterback.

Cal Dunlap, the Reno lawyer representing the woman, confirmed the settlement on Friday but declined to discuss the terms of the agreement.

"The matter has been resolved and I have no further comment," he told The Associated Press.

The Reno Gazette-Journal first reported the settlement on its website. It also dismisses claims against Harrah's employees whom the woman had accused of covering up the alleged sexual assault in Roethlisberger's penthouse suite in July 2008.

Dunlap first told Washoe District Court Judge Brent Adams in papers filed last Nov. 30 that his client wanted to have a stay lifted so the case could be dismissed because a settlement was pending.

"All parties have reached a resolution of all claims and counterclaims," he wrote.

Adams formally dismissed the case Dec. 27 but neither side had publicized it until now.

David Cornwell, Roethlisberger's lawyer, did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment on Friday. His agent, Ryan Tollner, said neither he nor Roethlisberger would have any comment.

The Nevada Supreme Court had ruled against the two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback's request in August to have the case moved from Reno to Carson City because it was closer to where the alleged incident had occurred at Harrah's in Stateline.

The woman was a VIP casino hostess at Harrah's when she said Roethlisberger allegedly lured her to his room under the pretense of fixing his television. Roethlisberger was in town at the time to play in a celebrity golf tournament.

Roethlisberger denied the allegations.

The original lawsuit filed in 2009 sought a minimum of $440,000 in damages from the quarterback, at least $50,000 in damages from the Harrah's officials and an unspecified amount in punitive damages.

The woman said she never filed a criminal complaint because she feared Harrah's would side with Roethlisberger and she would be fired.

Comments

[Wide Stance]

02:07 PM on 01/22/2012

Alleged rape. And pigs allegedly can't fly.

[ruffdeezy]

12:20 PM on 01/22/2012

I bet the figure was much higher than Herman Cain's.

[SoutheastBeast]

12:05 PM on 01/22/2012

I swear. It must be nice to white.

[zeusonolympus300]

02:30 PM on 11/14/2012

It is here, not in Central America, Asia, Africa, South America, the Middle East....yea pretty much Europe and North America it is nice to be white, everywhere else no...

[GWB3]

01:55 AM on 01/22/2012

Her name is Andrea McNulty.

[greysells2]

07:30 AM on 01/22/2012

That information is not really necessary.

[AbeMartin]

09:41 AM on 01/22/2012

No asked for that information, did they? And evidently, neither the writer of the article or the HuffPost editors felt it was necessary to post. I don't think you are going to be nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

[drcmgdhs]

01:49 AM on 01/22/2012

If Ben settled without the woman ever filing a criminal complaint then it really makes you wonder if there wasn't some truth to the allegation.

[TOMLAM]

03:12 AM on 01/22/2012

Not really. If the woman really was raped she would continue on with the criminal complaint. This was clearly a cash grab. She had no evidence at all other than being in the same hotel as him.

[jimboh]

07:09 AM on 01/22/2012

Then why settle?

[AbeMartin]

09:44 AM on 01/22/2012

The vast majority of rape victims, whether female or male, never report the crime to the police, because of people like yourself. Were you privy to the depositions or did you examine any forensic evidence she submitted? Were there photographs of bruising, ripped clothes, rape kits? Rothliesberger is a serial sleaze, who has a long history of treating women like throwaways. Without the continuing support of the Rooney family, he would have been fired.

[gixxerman]

12:22 AM on 01/22/2012

Must be nice; Lewis, Kobe, and Vick was vilified

[ruffdeezy]

12:21 PM on 01/22/2012

and Herman Cain

[Flight]

11:11 PM on 01/21/2012

If Ben 'didn't' do the alleged act, why pay? I'd be more interested and concern about clearing my name and exposing an extortionist if false.

[TOMLAM]

03:14 AM on 01/22/2012

To some people it isn't worth the time and energy to fight. No one likes being in court, outside of lawyers, so they just want it to go away and not disrupt their lives. If you've ever been to court then you know how irritating a process it is.

[LabRATTired]

10:25 PM on 01/21/2012

She should have never settled. Ever. What a farce..

[ShaDynasty]

10:20 PM on 01/21/2012

Hi, I'm a casino hostess, can I fix your television.....

[juandiggla]

11:32 PM on 01/21/2012

LOL- dude i thought the same thing when i read that... something smells fishy here....beside her t*at

[out-west]

09:55 PM on 01/21/2012

Once again another super star buys there way out of something they did wrong. I do'nt know why the NFL, NBA, and MLB do'nt not ban these clowns for life.........opps yes I do .....its all about making money for owners and shareholders

[powerlift2201]

10:35 PM on 01/21/2012

If you knew some of the facts of this story you would realize that this woman was practically laughed out of the DA's office because they knew her story simply was not true.

[420atmosphere]

11:10 PM on 01/21/2012

Don't

[Workinwithu]

09:31 PM on 01/21/2012

As long as he didnt kill canines all will be well

[Brace4impactz]

09:22 PM on 01/21/2012

Ever notice how ESPN doesn't refer to Big Ben as a troubled football star the way they do every time they mention Terrell Owens, Randy Moss, and others whose main crime is that they're self centered. Being self-centered is stupid, but on ESPN that's obviously worse than repeated rape accusations.

[Brace4impactz]

10:02 PM on 01/21/2012

I apologize for the incorrect punctuation. My only defense is that I'm somewhat distracted by the Joe Paterno and Gingrich headlines. My bad.

[jonmag]

10:18 PM on 01/21/2012

ESPN has always been a biased network so dont expect much.....

[Horatio Nelson]

08:55 PM on 01/21/2012

What stays in Las Vegas is swarmed by a mountain of personal injury and defence lawyers. It's not a nice place for moneyed people to go.

[lovinlife2]

08:53 PM on 01/21/2012

How many more of these "cases" are pending out there?? Ben: Ever consider a long-term relationship with a woman?

[AngryHarpy]

01:26 AM on 01/22/2012

Didn't he just get married? I know he's at least engaged.

But, that's no excuse for what (I believe) he is guilty of. Both cases.

[lovinlife2]

04:52 PM on 01/23/2012

Don't know his relationship status at present. Still, what in the H is he thinking?

[knmrourkdz]

08:43 PM on 01/21/2012

a settlement is an admission of guilt. way to go ben.she wasn't even 21. i hope she has found a way to get by this & have her life back.

[powerlift2201]

10:37 PM on 01/21/2012

Do you realize that this woman was practically laughed out of the DA's office because her story was too full of holes? Do you realize that there were counter claims against her and the details of the settlement were not released?

[AngryHarpy]

01:27 AM on 01/22/2012

In your scenario, Ben has all the power. If he did not agree to a monetary settlement, we'd know about it.

[carrtj]

11:26 PM on 01/21/2012

guess her horrible ordeal wasnt so horrible if some cash made it all go away

[AngryHarpy]

01:28 AM on 01/22/2012

That's like saying that the death of someone isn't so horrible because their family got a settlement.

[ruffdeezy]

12:23 PM on 01/22/2012

would you say the same about Herman Cain?