Video interviews in Roethlisberger investigation to be released
-
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
Share with others:
Did authorities investigating a rape allegation against Ben Roethlisberger ask the right questions? Were they too pushy or not pushy enough? Were witnesses forthcoming or coy?
Now you can judge for yourself.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation today is releasing more than 50 DVDs containing videotaped interviews conducted in the days after a college student accused the Steelers quarterback of raping her in a bathroom at the Capital City nightclub in Milledgeville, Ga.
Voices and images of students, bar patrons and employees, police officers, members of Mr. Roethlisberger's entourage and the accuser's circle of friends who spoke with authorities in March will be uploaded to www.post-gazette.com as soon as they are available.
Through his attorneys, Mr. Roethlisberger, 28, has denied any criminal wrongdoing. His 20-year-old accuser asked for the case to be dropped, and the local prosecutor declined to press charges. That end to prosecution paved the way under Georgia law for the videotaped interviews to be released.
There should be few, if any, surprises in the recordings. The essence of the information was previously available in reports compiled by the GBI and the Milledgeville Police Department that are also on the Post-Gazette's website.
Now, though, the public can for the first time see how witnesses acted while being questioned and assess the tone and demeanor of interviewer and interviewee, a chance rarely if ever afforded to Pennsylvanians.
People also will be able to see and hear the woman at the center of the accusations. Interviews with the alleged victim were captured in separate audio and video recordings.
The Post-Gazette does not identify accusers in sexual assault cases. The GBI has blurred the woman's face and deleted any identifying information about her from the video.
Also taped were interviews with two of her friends, Nicole Biancofiore and Ann Marie Lubatti, who were with the woman at Capital City. They spoke to officers immediately after the incident and accompanied her to the police station and hospital.
First Published June 9, 2010 12:00 am
