Baxter Holmes, ESPN Senior WriterOct 25, 2023, 11:15 ETLreading: 4 min.
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Former NBA star Dwight Howard denied sexual assault allegations leveled against him earlier this year and asked a court to dismiss a civil lawsuit he faces in Georgia.
The former star of NBA, Dwight Howard denied sexual assault allegations leveled against him earlier this year and asked a court to dismiss a civil lawsuit he faces in Georgia.
In court documents obtained by ESPN, Howard said on Monday that engaged in “consensual sexual activity” with a man called Stephen Harper during a meeting in July 2021 at the residence of Howard not Georgia. Howard denied causing any injury to Harper, according to the file.
Former NBA star Dwight Howard denied sexual assault allegations leveled against him earlier this year.Rocky Widner/NBAE/Getty Images
In the original complaint filed in July, Harper’s attorneys said he and Howard They began communicating via direct messages on Instagram in May 2021, with Harper initiating the exchange. Harper accused Howard of sexually assaulting him in the house of Howard during the subsequent meeting in July 2021.
“We fully anticipate that Mr. Howard would raise the issue of consent in his response,” Harper’s attorney, Olga Izmaylova, told ESPN, adding that Harper did not consent.
Harper’s complaint also accused Howard of “intentional infliction of emotional distress” and false imprisonment. The response of Howard He denied those accusations.
“What was a private and consensual meeting was made public for profit and Mr. Howard hopes to bring the truth to light in a court of law,” he told ESPN one of the lawyers Howard, Justin Bailey. “The accusations against Mr. Howard are contested. Mr. Howard It is intended to present the truth. The truth is that Mr. Howard blocked Mr. Harper on social media and was then faced with two options: pay to protect his reputation or have fabricated information released to the public. Despite being an easy target due to the topic and his celebrity status, Mr. Howard decided to trust the justice system and will rely on all future court filings to speak for themselves.”
Harper’s complaint includes screenshots of alleged Instagram exchanges between Harper and Howard 2021, along with an Uber receipt for Harper’s trip to the residence Howard the night of the meeting.
Harper went to police a year later, according to a July 2022 incident report from the Gwinnett County Police Department, which was obtained by ESPN. No charges were filed.
“This report was made after Mr. Harper was blocked on social media and after the first demand for payment was rejected,” Bailey said.
In Georgia, the statute of limitations for filing this type of civil lawsuit is two years from the date of the incident.
“We had to conduct an independent investigation and Mr. Harper had to consider some private factors,” Izmaylova said, “before we all felt ready to proceed with the lawsuit.”
Howard37 years old, last played in the NBA in 2021-22 with the Los Angeles Lakers. He is an eight-time All-Star and three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
2023-10-25 15:15:00
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