The woman whom former Broncos cornerback Perrish Cox allegedly raped after she had passed out in his apartment will now be filing a civil suit against Cox and Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas.
Cox was acquitted of criminal charges, even though: (1) the woman was pregnant with a fetus whose DNA matched Cox’s; and (2) Cox told police he never had sex with her.
According to CourthouseNews.com, the woman will be permitted to file suit anonymously, in order to protect her identity.
Thomas testified at Cox’s criminal trial. Thomas never was charged with any crime.
The lower standard of proof in civil cases, where the plaintiff needs merely to show tip the scales of evidence in her favor, could result in a verdict against Cox, who currently plays for the 49ers, and possibly Thomas. In Cox’s criminal trial, the prosecution was required to show proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
The best example of that dynamic in the sports world comes from the O.J. Simpson case. He was acquitted in 1995 of killing his ex-wife and her friend, Ron Goldman, but Simpson later was saddled with a monstrous civil judgment, which indirectly resulted in his current incarceration.