Attorney: Roethlisberger accuser didn’t want intrusive trial, but wasn’t recanting allegation

Attorney: Roethlisberger accuser didn’t want trial

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — The attorney for a college student who accused Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger of sexual assault says the woman asked prosecutors not to pursue the case to avoid an intrusive trial.

The 20-year-old woman’s attorney, David Walbert, said in a letter to Ocmulgee Circuit District Attorney Fred Bright that his client was not recanting her accusation. But the letter said the woman felt a trial would be too intrusive because of all the media attention.

The letter was released Monday.

The student had told police that Roethlisberger sexually assaulted her last month at a nightclub in the central Georgia college town of Milledgeville.

Bright said authorities also chose not to file charges because there was not enough evidence to prove the allegations in court.