Roethlisberger has become talk of Milledgeville town
By Kristi E. Swartz, Christian Boone, Marcus K. Garner and Craig Schneider
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Milledgeville – This small college town is abuzz that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is a suspect in a sexual assault of a college student at a nightclub here.
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www.ajc.com%2fmultimedia%2fdynamic%2f00440%2f063851_Roethlisberg_440788c.jpg&superSizeImage=y">Enlarge photoGene J. Puskar, AP In this Jan. 5, 2008 file photo, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger reacts as the Jacksonville Jaguars kick a game-winning field goal during the fourth quarter of an NFL wild card playoff football game in Pittsburgh. A 20-year-old college student has accused Roethlisberger of sexually assaulting her at a nightclub early Friday, March 5, 2010, during a night on the town near where he owns a lake home.
Milledgeville police say the NFL superstar and his 20-year-old accuser visited several establishments late Thursday night before the alleged attack.
The quarterback has spoken with police, said his agent who, in a statement, denies the charges leveled against his client. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is assisting in the investigation.
Ashley Madden, a student at Georgia College & State University, said she is acquainted with the girl who is the accuser. Police said the accuser is a student at the school.
Madden said she saw Roethlisberger and the young woman at two bars –The Velvet Elvis and The Brick. The girl was sitting near him and they seemed to be getting along, she said.
Madden said one of her friends tried to take a picture of Roethlisberger, but “he snapped at her, saying ‘Don’t take a picture unless I’m ready.’ ”
She said she did not see him do anything inappropriate to the girl, and that other girls were also around him.
College students who gathered Friday night at the busy club area in town talked incessantly about the incident. They said that at first they could not believe that the superstar was in their town. They said he he was treated like the biggest man on campus.
Then, when they heard what police were saying, they were shocked over the allegations.
Several were being interviewed by news crews.
The students traded rumors in the cold outside the Capital City nightclub at 119 South Wayne Street, where police say the alleged incident occurred. Some said they met the football player at the club. Some said they knew the accuser. Their conversations were filled with speculation. Some took sides, blaming him or her.
“For a little Georgia town, something like this is big,” said Brandon Priest, 21, of Loganville.
Students said the superstar was approached in the clubs by many people who wanted to get a photo with him or receive a hug. He had a handful of large men with him, who sometimes blocked people from coming close, they said.
“Everybody wanted to talk to him,” said Charles Arp, 19, who is studying environmental sciences at GCSU. “I tried to talk to him but his bodyguard just pushed me away.”
Others said Roethlisberger was friendly and well-behaved, signing autographs, standing for photos and buying drinks for people.
“I went up and talked to him. He was real cool,” said Hayden Lewis, a student at the nearby Georgia Military College.
Several students who said they know the accuser said she is a good person. Several said that Facebook sites and texting have lit up with news of the allegation. They said she has taken down her Facebook page.
“She’s a fun, outgoing sweet person,” said GCSU student Beckett Johnson, 21.
The quarterback has spoken with police, said his agent who, in a statement, denies the charges leveled against his client. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is assisting in the investigation.
The unidentified woman claims she was "sexually assaulted or sexually manipulated" by a man, police said. The woman, treated and released from Oconee Regional Medical Center, described her attacker as 6-foot-5, and 241 pounds, though she did not name Roethlisberger, who just turned 28, as the perpetrator.
Police said the incident took place between 11 p.m. Thursday and 2:30 a.m. at the Capital City nightclub near downtown Milledgeville and the GCSU campus.
"He's been identified as being at the scene," Milledgeville police Deputy Chief Richard Malone said.
Malone indicated to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the case is very much active. Investigators are collecting additional evidence, and more than a dozen investigators have been involved throughout the day, the Post-Gazette said.
"The woman approached one of our officers in the downtown area near Capital City saying she'd been sexually assaulted," by a the suspect described in the police report, Milledgeville Police spokesman David McNeely told the AJC.
The alleged victim was treated and released at the Oconee Regional Medical Center in Milledgeville, the Post-Gazette reported.
Investigators interviewed between seven and nine people, including the woman, Roethlisberger and everyone in their parties, the Post-Gazette said. Those initial interviews took place between 2:30 a.m. and 3 a.m., the Post-Gazette said.
According to various media outlets, Roethlisberger has a winter home in Reynolds Plantation, a resort community on Lake Oconee in Greensboro.
He's been accused of sexual assault before.
Last year, a woman claimed she was raped by the quarterback in 2008 in a Lake Tahoe, Nev. hotel room. Although no criminal charges were filed, the woman, Andrea McNulty, filed a civil suit against Roethlisberger to compel him to make a public admission and give her an apology and $100,000.
Milledgeville hardly has spent much time in the national spotlight. It is perhaps best known for its large mental hospital.
Friday nights come alive with scads of students swarming amid the downtown clubs. The young women were dressed up. Many were cold since they didn’t wear coats. The young people dodge in and out of traffic into clubs where bands play loud enough to hear them on the street.
One young man leaned out of a pick up truck to vomit, while the truck was still moving.
Beyond the club district, the town is quiet, with a Piggly Wiggly and a convenience store with a sign advertizing beer kegs.
