Milledgeville PD Down A Sergeant...

The Georgia officer who took the first police report from the woman who accused Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger of sexual assault has resigned.

Milledgeville police Chief Woodrow Blue confirmed that Sergeant Jerry Blash resigned back on Wednesday. That's the day before the GBI made public all the documents related to the Roethlisberger investigation.

Ocmulgee District ((GA)) prosecutors say they're not charging Roethlisberger, and Blash is the only officer who interviewed the quarterback. He acknowledged in an interview with investigators that he made some derogatory comments about the alleged victim to other officers.

And he even had his picture taken with Roethlisberger while the Steelers QB stayed in town...

The HQ gives a collective "whoops..." in that...

Roethlisberger...the investigative report....

Since we've been following this story from the beginning, we might as well continue to see it through. We now have an idea of what happened on that March night in Milledgeville, Georgia at the Capitol City Club where Ben Roethlisberger's latest round of trouble began.

Yes, you guessed it. The details of the police report and investigation have surfaced. Now that the DA has not filed charges, the record has become public.

The Smoking Gun...as usual...provides the play-by play RIGHT HERE

((Ben Roethlisberger is not a nice man//Courtesy: Smoking Gun))

To be perfectly honest, we are too busy shaking our heads right now to comment on this. Rather, we suggest that you follow the link and read it for yourself. It's not a pleasant...or easy read.

Roethlisberger Speaks, Apologizes To Steelers

The fans, teammates, everyone associated with the case, even the District Attorney, Fred Bright...

Just not to any kind of alleged victim...

Here's the full statement, thanks again to our friends at KDKA-TV...


Here's coverage from WAGA-TV in Atlanta, Julia Harding was in Milledgeville...
((HT: MyFoxAtlanta))


The HQ thinks Bright's take is fairly common-sensical and that the Steelers QB better take heed quickly, or he'll need the same real estate agent Santonio Holmes is using to get rid of his Pittsburgh living quarters...

DEVELOPING STORY: Sources Say Roethlisberger Will Not Face Charges, DA Still Silent

((HT: ESPN-Naqi))

Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger will not be charged after an investigation into accusations of sexual assault by a 20-year-old woman in Milledgeville, Georgia sources told ESPN's Kelly Naqi.

District Attorney Fred Bright will announce on Monday that charges will not be brought, but Bright did say in a statement he has reviewed all the investigation reports and will hold a news conference at 2PM Monday afternoon.

Milledgeville police Chief Woodrow Blue said Wednesday his department and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation had wrapped up their investigation.

PM UPDATE: Sources close to the investigation told OSG Sports Friday evening that if anyone told Naqi that no charges would be filed, that word most likely would not and did not come from the DA's office in this case.

District Attorney Bright has not spoken to anyone publicly or privately about the Roethlisberger case to any degree. Bright is still holding off addressing the matter until his Monday press conference.

More when we know more...

Roethlisberger to get his answer soon....

It looks like, contrary to reports earlier in the week, Ben Roethlisberger will learn in if he is in serious doo-doo or not. The District Attorney for the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit District, Fredric Bright has apparently concluded reviewing the investigation in Milledgeville, Georgia and will announce what he is going to do about it on Monday.

More from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette RIGHT HERE

((Ben Roethlisberger//Courtesy: Image of Sport/PR Photos and Starpulse.com))

That should make for an interesting day on Monday. With all of the speculation that this could drag out for months, it means one of two things: Either there was no evidence or proof that anything significant happened and Bright won't bring charges or their is overwhelming evidence that it did and he is immediately filing them. I guess we need to stand by our computers on Monday and find out exactly what happens.

DEVELOPING STORY: Roethlisberger's Fate In The DA's Hands...

And now we wait. Ben Roethlisberger will now await what Baldwin County District Attorney Fred Bright has to say about the sexual assault allegation against him.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Milledgeville Police Department officially handed over all of their information to Bright's office for him to decide whether there would be an indictment or not.

More from the Macon Telegraph and macon.com RIGHT HERE

From this point on, the Milledgeville PD won't be commenting on the case, all questions should be referred to Bright's office. The case, which has drawn considerable national attention centers around a 20-year old college students claim that she was sexually attacked by Roethlisberger at the Capital City Club in Milledgeville on March 5th.

((Ben Roethlisberger/File Photo))

Both sides have lawyered up and we now await comment from Bright who we were told wouldn't be commenting at least until he reviewed everything pertaining to the case. There are a lot of people, from Roger Goodell all the way down the priority pole who are anxious to hear what he has to say.

WMAZ-TV in Macon has the statement in its entirety:
"On Tuesday evening, April 6th, the report and all witness statements were turned over to District Attorney Fred Bright for review and appropriate action. There will be no further statements until a decision has been made by the DA."

GBI To Re-Interview Accusor In Roethlisberger Case

Two developments in the Roethlisberger case today...

The first from Pittsburgh...

The attorney for the 20-year-old accusor in the Ben Roethlisberger case is trying to set the record straight that his client is not avoiding any kind of interviews with the Georgia Bureau of Investigations.

This comes the day after the general consensus is that she was...

Andy Sheehan is in the newsroom in front of a monitor...
((HT: KDKA-TV Pittsburgh))


Second development comes from Kelly Naqi over at the four-letter...

Rocky Duncan, the manager of the Capital City Club in Milledgeville, said Thursday one of the accusor's friends told him a member of Roethlisberger's entourage kept her from getting anywhere close to the bathroom where she believed the accusor and Roethlisberger were that night.

Duncan was approached by the friend, who apparently told Duncan: "I think my friend is in the bathroom with Ben, but the door [leading to the bathroom area] is locked, and I'm trying to get back there, and this guy [one of Roethlisberger's friends] wouldn't let me through." Duncan said she also told him, "I think my friend may be drunk."

Naqi's Friday update is a must-read...

Roethlisberger's issues fading fast...

Well, it looks like things are starting to fall apart in the further adventures of Ben Roethlisberger. According to published reports, the woman who is accusing him of sexual assault in Milledgeville, Georgia has decided to not be re-interviewed by police.

This comes on the heels of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation deciding to withdraw their request for some of Mr. Roethlisberger's DNA. They also apparently don't have physical evidence of a crime.

More on the story from KDKA in Pittsburgh RIGHT HERE

And.......there's more. According to our friends at the 4-letter word, the video from the Capital City Nightclub in Milledgeville...no longer has video of the night in question. They apparently...recorded over it (draw conclusions please).

Check out the espn.com story RIGHT HERE

((Ben Roethlisberger//Courtesy: showznbookz.files.com))

All in all, it sounds like the case is beginning to slide away. While still "technically" under investigation, it is beginning to sound like there is nothing to investigate any more. Where it goes from here, remains to be seen.

However, the NFL Commisioner, Roger Goodell would still like to visit with Big Ben...perhaps to advise him to try and avoid being put in situations like this.

MPD Cop Posed For Roethlisberger Photo

((HT: Milledgeville Union-Recorder/Jackson))

Not that this has anything to do with anything, but the Milledgeville Police Department officer who was approached by the complainant in the Ben Roethlisberger case posed for a photo with the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback earlier in the evening ((Seen on the right, thanks Union-Recorder)).

Milledgeville Police Chief Woodrow Blue, when asked about the photo of Roethlisberger and Sergeant Jerry Blash, said he was not troubled by the photographs, adding that his officers are handling the case in the proper manner- and have from the beginning.

“The photographs did not and have not affected the investigation at all,” said Blue.

Chief Blue also has said that Blash has had very little impact in the investigation from the point of his initial writings and interviews.

((That's the HQ's point in all this...))

And it also makes us wonder how the photo got in the hands of the newspaper in the first place...

Everyone rub their collective chins in wonder...

TMZ is also reporting that Roethlisberger's defense team has added heavyweight private investigator Charles Mittelstadt to its stable.

The HQ wishes the GBI all the luck in the world with this one...

Roethlisberger digging a deep hole

Well, this shouldn't be a surprise but yet it is. Ben Roethlisberger's version of what happened last weekend in Milledgeville, Georgia is beginning to become a little clearer.

He, according to Pittsburgh TV station KDKA, told police in Milledgeville that he did have contact with the woman who is claiming sexual assualt and that the conversation was not consummated and that they did not have sex. The claim of her injury is supposedly "From her slipping and falling".

The report from KDKA is RIGHT HERE

This allegation is not good for the Steelers Quarterback, but it does explain quite a lot. It explains why his attorney on Tuesday said "He did not have sexual relations" but wouldn't say whether they had met or not.

It leaves several unanswered questions and a few of them could end badly. Since there was DNA requested from Roethlisberger it begs the question: "If they didn't have sex, why would they (police) be looking to match DNA samples?", were they kissing?. It also makes you wonder exactly how she "Slipped and fell" and how that injured her enough to go to the hospital.

It sounds an awful lot like the woman made it back to the VIP area of the club where Roethlisberger and his party were. There was some sort of interatction between them and somewhere in that time frame, she ended up injured and felt attacked. Whether or not she enhanced the story or Roethlisberger is playing it off in hopes that it will go away is to be determined but the evidence is building...and it doesn't sound very good.

Here is the TV version of the story from KDKA-TV:

We have Roethlisberger alleged victim lawyers now...

You knew it was only a matter of time. The alleged victim who claims that Ben Roethlisberger sexually assaulted her has lawyered up.

The lawyers, Lee Parks and David Walbert of the Atlanta firm Parks, Chesin and Walbert released a statement late yesterday speaking about their client and what happened. They of course urged media restraint in chasing down the victim and her parents among other things.

Said the release "Their daughter has done the right thing and reported this matter to police" and "She has been and will be available to the authorities to assist them in the investigation". We also learned that the victim, who we will not name is a student at Georgia College. And according to a report from TMZ.com this morning, she is dropping out of school.

More from the Milledgeville paper, the Union-Recorder RIGHT HERE

The TMZ report is RIGHT HERE

Well, it sounds like this story won't be going away for awhile. With Roethlisberger retaining Ed Garland, there must be some concern that this might become a problem. With the alleged victims family also lawyering up, they are going to make sure that this just doesn't disappear. Reading a bit between the lines of what the carefully scripted interview that Garland did the other day with the 4-letter, it sounds like something might have happened it just may be that all parties are trying to determine if any laws were broken.

Here is a discussion on the story from the CBS Early Show. Thanks CBS News!

Watch CBS News Videos Online

BREAKING NEWS (?) New Roethlisberger Presser Reveals One New Clue...

But we figured we'd tell you anyway... the only revelation is the monitoring of surveillance video tapes from inside Capital City by the Milledgeville Police Department and the GBI.

Here's the GBI's Special agent in charge, Tom Davis, discussing the impending return of Roethlisberger and his new attorney, Ed Garland... for about a minute...

Thanks to our friends at 13WMAZ and 13wmaz.com


The HQ is familiar with Garland's work in the Ray Lewis and Dany Heatley cases... Middle Georgia won't know what hit them when they all hit town...

You don't hire "Coach" unless there's something to be worried about or coached on...

MPD hopes to interview Roethlisberger in the next few days and expect Garland to arrange the appropriate time to talk.

Garland told the gathered media-types today in a statement that there was "no criminal activity" and Roethlisberger is "completely innocent of any crime." Garland also says that no sexual assault occurred.

((What else is he going to say...?))

Paul Martino is in Milledgeville for KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh...


The Steelers issued a statement this afternoon...
However brief...

"All of us in the Steelers family are concerned about the recent incident involving Ben Roethlisberger in Georgia. We cannot comment on any of the specifics until law enforcement's investigation is concluded. Certainly, we will continue to closely monitor the situation."

Sunday Roethlisberger Update

((HT: WMAZ-TV, AJC/Schneider, Swartz))

Probably, the biggest news coming out of Saturday's advance in the Ben Roethlisberger case is that there is a planned news conference Monday night to update all of us on what went down ((allegedly)) in Milledgeville late last week.

According to GBI special-agent-in-charge in Milledgeville, Tom Davis, attorneys for the Steelers QB are going to assist the GBI in getting names of everyone in Roethlisberger's party from that night and are going to assist in arranging possible interviews.

Lauren DiSpirito was in Milledgeville trying to advance a story on a weekend...

Saturday Roethlisberger Update

((HT: AJC/Schneider, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/Silver))

Craig Schneider of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution got to do some digging Friday in the Ben Roethlisberger case. He came across a cross-section of Georgia College and State University students that spend their time in the downtown district.

Some had difficulty interacting with Roethlisberger on the evening of the alleged sexual assault because of the Steelers QB's bodyguard. Others got to do their standard bit of chit-chat. It seemed to depend on who Schneider got to ask...

Schneider found an acquaintance of the accuser: Ashley Madden, a fellow GCSU student.

Madden said she saw Roethlisberger and the young woman at two bars -- The Velvet Elvis and The Brick.

The girl was sitting near him and they seemed to be getting along, she said.

Madden said one of her friends tried to take a picture of Roethlisberger, but “he snapped at her, saying ‘Don’t take a picture unless I’m ready.’ ”

She said she did not see him do anything inappropriate to the girl, and that other girls were also around him.

With the social media being what it is these days, the accuser in the Roethlisberger case, who gets high marks from all those who know her, has taken down her Facebook page as a result of all the attention.

Here's the Friday story from our friends at Fox24 in Macon...
Kimberly Newman is in Milledgeville...


In the Post-Gazette piece from Jonathan Silver, he reveals that the Georgia Bureau of Investigations was in contact with Roethlisberger's attorneys at least three times on Friday.

The Milledgeville police initially interviewed from seven to nine people early on Friday morning.

Here's the other interesting part:

Responding to reports that an incident might have taken place in a women's restroom, Deputy Chief Malone confirmed that there is a bathroom near the area where Mr. Roethlisberger, the woman and other people were socializing inside the club.

In a brief interview after the news conference, he said the entire area -- including the bathroom and other spots inside the club -- are considered possible parts of a crime scene.

"There were other areas beyond the restroom that were given to us as areas where they were together," he said. "We look at all the areas that our witnesses identify."

The incident was listed on the police report as not being a "stranger-on-stranger" determination...

Surprising no one, Carlos R.X. Dunlap, the attorney for Andrea McNulty claims to be aware of the incident in Milledgeville. Sounds he'll be drafting off that case as well for his civil proceeding.

More when we know more...

BREAKING NEWS: Roethlisberger In Trouble Again...

File this under the category of WTF?

According to TMZ.com, Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger may be in trouble again.
What is he in trouble for? Glad that you asked.

He apparently is being accused of "sexual assault" on a woman at a nightclub in...get this...Milledgeville, Georgia.

We don't know how much weight this story will or won't have. The obvious question would be what was Ben Roethlisberger doing at the Capital City club in Milledgeville, Georgia in early March.

We have an answer... other than "he has a home on Lake Oconee."

According to OSG Sources, Roethlisberger is apparently friends with an aspiring country music singer, Luke Bryan, who was scheduled to perform at the Capital City club tonight.

That... would explain his presence. Additionally, according to our sources, the description of the individual being questioned by local police is a 6-5, 241 pound white male. They would not identify the individual...but take a look at the Steelers website and look up #7's vital statistics and draw your own conclusions.

The original story from TMZ.com is RIGHT HERE

The report goes on to add that Roethlisberger hasn't been charged with anything at this point and that he has been interviewed/questioned by police which would corroborate the information that we've gathered. The Steelers are aware of the incident and apparently "gathering information." The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is also involved.

Milledgeville Deputy police chief Richard Malone said Roethlisberger and a party of three friends had been at the Capital and other local establishments earlier in the evening.

((Ben Roethlisberger//Courtesy: graphicshunt.com))
Roethlisberger has already been in the headlines for a sexual assualt complaint filed against him from an incident in Reno, Nevada in 2008. The woman still has an outstanding civil suit against him...this might add a bit of weight to it.

We will wait and see.

Chris McKearney of the Baldwin Bulletin newspaper reports no arrests are imminent, and that Roethlisberger will not be formally interviewed until Monday at the earliest.

The Milledgeville Police Department issued a statement saying the alleged victim was treated and released from Oconee Regional Medical Center earlier Friday.

Roethlisberger's agent, Ryan Tollner, released a statement that says in part- "given the prior accusation against Ben, we are skeptical of motive, but we will continue to cooperate with everyone involved."

WMAZ-TV in Macon reports that the alleged victim in the case was a 20-year-old student from the Georgia College and State University. The police report says that the woman says she was "sexually assaulted or sexually manipulated" by a man.

Here's the presser from Milledgeville, thanks to our friends at WMAZ-TV...


Here's the copy of the police report...