Yesterday, it was announced that no charges for sexual assault would be filed against Ben Roethlisberger of the Steelers, citing “Not enough evidence to convict”.

Well since this, details of the case have just been pouring out, and it looks bad, real bad for Big Ben.  I’d say worse than the Kobe Bryant rape case, by far.

The main source of evidence would have been the dozen cameras in the club. The footage was “taped over”, even though the club had been immediately asked to turn the footage over.  Anyways, listen to these new tidbits from the case:

• Friends of Ben Roethlisberger‘s accuser say the NFL star’s bodyguards and the club owner refused to let them help their friend as she was allegedly being raped … this according to documents obtained from the Milledgeville Police Department.
• According to the court documents, witnesses told police they saw Ben’s bodyguard escort the alleged victim to a backroom where the tiny bathroom was located — and Ben followed shortly after.
• One of the accuser’s friends told police she approached Ben’s bodyguard and “told him that [the alleged victim] was in no shape to be back there with Ben.” The friend said she tried to open the bathroom door but it was locked, “and the security guards acted like they had no idea what was going on.”
• Another friend said she approached the owner of the club to get him to unlock the door — but he refused and said “Ben’s an NFL quarterback, he won’t do anything to ruin his reputation.” The owner gave a statement to cops, and made no mention of making the comment.
• Both witnesses say once the alleged victim walked out of the bathroom, she immediately claimed Ben had raped her.
• Ben Roethlisberger’s accuser told friends that the QB took his penis out of his pants in a Georgia nightclub before following her into a bathroom — this according to newly released witness statements.
• Ben Roethlisberger‘s accuser told police the QB’s bodyguard grabbed her by the arm and sat her in a secluded hallway in the Capital City nightclub — setting the stage for the alleged rape.
• The Milledgeville Police Department released a copy of the accuser’s written statement to cops on March 5 — in which she told police that Ben had been making “crude sexual remarks” to her in the hours before the alleged incident.
• The accuser says when she arrived to the VIP area, Ben’s bodyguard grabbed her by the arm and brought her to a “side door/hallway and sat me on a stool.”
• The accuser continues,  “[the bodyguard] left and Ben came back with his penis out of his pants. I told him it wasn’t OK.”
• The accuser claims she tried to leave through a nearby door, which turned out to be a restroom. The woman claims she continued to tell Ben that “It was not OK,” but he had sex with her anyway.

• Milledgeville Police officer – Sergeant Jerry Blash — turned in his resignation yesterday. He had been with the force for 8 years.
• In the report, investigators claim that on the night of the alleged incident, Blash admitted that after he encountered the accuser, he may have made a comment similar to “this f*cking bitch is drunk” or “this bitch is drunk off her ass accusing Ben of assaulting her.”
• Investigators also report that on the night of the incident, Blash informed the accuser and her friends that “Roethlisberger has a lot of money” and if the women were to follow through with a police report, they “would be wasting their time.”
  

Uhhhhhh… Seriously Ben?  Sounds like swept under the rug if I’ve ever seen something.  Ben was out with cops who were his “friends”, must have paid off the bar to accidentally “tape over” the footage, which is the reason they got a lawyer.  And then all of a sudden all of this quietlyyy goes away. I dont think so Ben.  I hope Goodell gets all of this info and suspends you at least 4 games.  That is, if the Steelers don’t trade you for a 3rd rounder first….

TMZ has the most details on the story as always.  Head over to TMZ.com to see full excerpts.  ESPN also ran a story on some of the details, but left a lot out (Hmmm….?).  Photos courtesy of TMZ.

Related posts:

1. Roethlisberger Case: New Info