Derrick Rose Court Filing Says Sexual Assault Accuser Is 'Sexual Aggressor'
Lawyers for New York Knicks point guard Derrick Rose filed court documents on Monday calling the woman who accused him of sexual assault the "sexual aggressor" in the incident and accusing her of attempted extortion.
"This is not a rape case. It's pure and simple extortion by a plaintiff who wants to hide behind the cloak of anonymity while seeking millions in damages from a celebrity with whom she was in a long-term nonexclusive consensual sexual relationship," the document says, per Dareh Gregorian of the New York Daily News.
The woman, who has remained unnamed in court documents, filed a lawsuit against Rose last year accusing him and two others of gang rape. She is seeking $21 million in damages.
A judge recently denied Rose's motion to have the case dismissed. It will begin trial in October, barring a settlement or a change of date.
Rose has vehemently denied the woman's allegations from the outset, saying they had a long-standing consensual relationship that has since ended.
"Plaintiff is a 30-year old adult who was in a consensual relationship with Mr. Rose; she was the sexual aggressor that night; she brought another woman with her, she claimed she bought (and did bring) the sex toys, she drank before arriving, and asked Mr. Rose for drugs (which he declined) and alcohol," the filing said.
Furthermore, Rose's attorneys say text message exchanges between the two show the sex on the night in question was consensual. The exchange allegedly says the woman bought "a sex belt to have fun with Mr. Rose, and then [asked] Mr. Rose to drive over to her house at 1 a.m. for more consensual sexual interaction."
The woman allegedly later asked Rose to reimburse her purchase of the sex toys and for cab fare. She did not make any accusations of the encounter being nonconsensual, according to the attorneys.
The filing asks for the accuser's name to be made public—she is currently listed as Jane Doe—to ensure Rose "is not unfairly prejudiced at trial." Rose is also asking the judge to fine the woman because her parents did not show up for depositions, per Julia Marsh of the New York Post.
"They have no response on the merits, so they call the victim a sexual aggressor when she's a rape victim," said Brandon Anand, an attorney representing the woman.
With the trial set to begin in October, it is possible Rose will have to miss games or travel during the NBA season. In 2003, Kobe Bryant was forced to travel between Eagle, Colorado and Los Angeles while facing a sexual assault civil trial. Since Rose's case was filed in California, he may have to take cross-country flights from New York.
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