U.S.

Tyson Denies Sex Assault Allegation

July 28, 2001 / 1:26 PM EDT / AP

Authorities are investigating a woman's allegation that former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson sexually assaulted her at a rental home last week.

The woman contacted the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department on Tuesday and alleged she was sexually assaulted by Tyson a week earlier at a Big Bear City home he rents during training, sheriff's spokesman Chip Patterson said Friday.

There was no arrest and "we have not determined whether there was criminal wrongdoing," Patterson said.

Tyson served more than three years in an Indiana prison after being convicted of raping Desiree Washington, a former Miss Black Rhode Island, in an Indianapolis hotel room in 1991.

Details from the alleged assault July 16 weren't disclosed. The woman was examined at a hospital afterward, but those findings also weren't disclosed, Patterson said.

"A female adult made an allegation to the sheriff's department that she had been sexually assaulted by Mike Tyson," Patterson said. "What we have at this point is an allegation that is being investigated."

Tyson, 35, who no longer is in the Big Bear area, 70 miles east of Los Angeles, hasn't been questioned by police.

"We are seeking to interview him," Patterson said. "There have been discussions with his attorney. We have not identified him as a suspect."

Tyson attorney Darrow Soll denied the allegations and said his client would cooperate with investigators.

"We believe the allegations are false and we look forward to working with the sheriff's office to resolve the investigation as quickly as possible," Soll said from his Phoenix office.

Tyson was quoted by the New York Post as saying: "I'm not aware of any allegations."

Earlier this month, Tyson apologized to a Big Bear Lake store owner for walking out of the shop with $25 worth of candy. The store owner reported what happened to the Sheriff's Department, but it later was determined to be a misunderstanding, Patterson said.

In addition to his 1992 rape conviction, Tyson has repeatedly fought abuse claims from women, including his first wife, actress Robin Givens.