Lost in the hoopla over the hollow settlement offer recently made by the woman suing Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for sexual assault is the fact that her lawyer recently has asked for a list of all women with whom Ben has had relations.
The request came in a Tuesday court filing aimed at defeating Roethlisberger’s motion to dismiss the case.
The accuser also wants Roethlisberger to identify whether any of his sexual partners have alleged misconduct on his part. (Suddenly, we’re reminded of the scene where Jerry Seinfeld calls Patty Lawrence.)
Though likely outrageous to the non-lawyers in the crowd, this is a fairly common practice in the pre-trial discovery process. In this case, Roethlisberger’s accuser wants to find out whether other women have accused him of sexual assault. If the process for getting that information creates a hassle or an embarrassment for Roethsliberger, it’s an added benefit, from the perspective of the plaintiff.
Meanwhile, lawyer Calvin Dunlap apparently claims that the woman, whose credibility has been dramatically undermined by the fact that she filed no criminal complaint after the incident, told a doctor about the alleged assault, presumably within a short period of time after it occurred.