Roethlisberger Admits Sexual "Contact"
Ben Roethlisberger admitted to police he had sexual contact with a woman accusing him of sexual assault at an Atlanta-area nightclub Friday night, but denies the two had intercourse, according to sources speaking to CBS Pittsburgh station KDKA.
After the woman made the claim, police in Milledgeville, Ga. spoke with the two-time Super Bowl-winning Steelers quarterback, the station reports. And, notes CBS News Correspondent Jeff Glor, those investigators say they intend to interview Roethlisberger again in coming days.
He was at the club celebrating his 28th birthday.
The sources also say Roethlisberger denied there was an assault, and told cops the woman, 20, slipped and fell after the sexual contact, injuring her head.
The woman immediately went to a local hospital to report her complaint, Glor points out.
Police will ask Roethlisberger for DNA samples, Glor says, presumably to see if they match substances taken from the woman at the hospital.
Roethlisberger's lawyer, Ed Garland, maintains his client will emerge from the incident with his reputation intact. "We intend to finish this case in a way that neither his liberty nor his future is damaged," garland told reporters.
Roethlisberger is also being sued by a woman who claims he raped her at a Lake Tahoe hotel/casino last year, an allegation he strongly denies.
On "The Early Show" Thursday, CBS News legal analyst Jack Ford says the latest revelations, if true, "change the dimensions" of the case: