The same woman whose rape accusations got football player Ray McDonald dropped from the San Francisco 49ers last December is responding to a defamation suit from McDonald by leveling a new accusation: She now says that fellow 49er Ahmad Brooks groped her while she was unconscious at McDonald's home.
The incident, which occurred on December 14 following a 49ers loss to the Seattle Seahawks, was first detailed in courts filings just before Christmas. Brooks had not been named in the original police reports, however they did mention a crew of friends with whom McDonald and the woman had been partying at a bar and then at McDonald's San Jose home. According to the original complaint, the woman slipped and fell on a deck by McDonald's pool, and as TMZ now reports she says she was unconscious for a full eight minutes. While she was unconscious, she says, Brooks groped her sexually, as is documented on surveillance video from the night which was obtained by police. The video then shows McDonald picking her up and carrying her to his bedroom, where she claims he had sex with her without her consent.
The original rape allegations against McDonald are still pending, and Santa Clara County prosecutors have not yet said if they are pursuing charges against him, as USA Today reports.
The anonymous 22-year-old woman has not been named publicly, but she has lawyered up in a big way with famed civil rights attorney Gloria Allred. The move with the cross-complaint against Brooks is in response to a defamation suit filed in March by McDonald claiming that the woman's allegations cast him in a "false light." As NBC Bay Area reports, Allred is calling the suit purely an intimidation tactic, and she is also filing an anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation) suit against McDonald. Allred said her client is "determined to fight Mr. McDonald," and went further in a press briefing Wednesday, saying, "All alleged rape victims should know they cannot be bullied against for reporting to police if they believe a crime has been committed against them. We will not allow NFL football players to intimidate those who allege they are rape victims."
Furthermore, in the new complaint, the woman is alleging that McDonald thought she might be dead following her fall, did not call 911 and said that he “did not want a dead female to be found on his property.” But then he had sex with her anyway?
As we learned back in December, after the woman went to police a detective began texting from her phone with McDonald. Complicating the case is the fact that the woman spent the entire next day at McDonald's house drinking with fellow 49ers player Aldon Smith, following the alleged rape, and only went to police the day after that.
Brooks has not commented on the new allegations. The 49ers issued this statement: "The San Francisco 49ers organization is aware of the media report regarding Ahmad Brooks. We were disappointed to learn of this matter and will continue to monitor the situation."