Dwight Howard, accusations of sexual assault by a man: “Consensual intercourse”

Former NBA star Dwight Howard has denied sexual assault and battery charges filed against him earlier this year and has asked a court to dismiss a civil lawsuit he is facing in Georgia. As ESPN reports, Howard claimed to have engaged in “consensual sexual activity” with one Stephen Harper during a meeting in July 2021 at Howard’s residence in Georgia. Howard denied raping Harper, according to the document. In the original complaint filed in July, Harper’s lawyers said he and Howard first began writing to each other via direct messages on Instagram in May 2021, with Harper initiating the exchange. Harper accused Howard of sexually assaulting him at Howard’s home during their subsequent meeting in July 2021.

Profit

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“We fully expected Mr. Howard to raise the issue of consent in his response,” Harper’s lawyer, Olga Izmaylova, told ESPN, adding that Harper did not consent. “What was a private consensual encounter has been made public for financial gain and Mr. Howard looks forward to bringing the truth to light in a court of law,” one of Howard’s lawyers, Justin Bailey, told ESPN. “The charges against Mr Howard are disputed. Mr. Howard intends to present the truth. The truth is that Mr. Howard blocked Mr. Harper on social media and then was faced with two options: pay to protect his reputation or have a trumped-up charge. Despite being an easy target due to his subject matter and celebrity status, Mr. Howard has chosen to trust the justice system and will rely on all future court filings to speak for themselves. Harper’s complaint includes screenshots of alleged Instagram exchanges between Harper and Howard from 2021, along with an Uber receipt from Harper’s trip to Howard’s residence the night of the meeting.

History

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Harper went to police a year later, according to a July 2022 incident report from the Gwinnett County Police Department. No charges have been filed. “This report was made after Mr Harper was blocked on social media and after the first request for payment was rejected,” Bailey said. In Georgia, the statute of limitations for filing this type of civil lawsuit is two years from the date of the accident. “We had some independent investigations to conduct and Mr. Harper had some private factors to consider,” Izmaylova said, “before we all felt ready to proceed with the lawsuit.” Howard, 37, last played in the NBA in 2021-22 with the Los Angeles Lakers . He is an eight-time All-Star and three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year.