Roethlisberger denies sex assault claim

PITTSBURGH, July 21 (UPI) -- Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger did not sexually assault a woman last year in Reno, Nev., the player's attorney says.

A statement released Monday by attorney William David Cornwell of DNK Cornwell, a sports law firm based in Atlanta, denied that the Super Bowl champion had assaulted anyone after it was learned that a Nevada court docket indicated an Andrea McNulty has filed a sex assault case in civil court, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported.

"This weekend, Andrea McNulty served Ben Roethlisberger with a civil complaint accusing him of sexually assaulting her in July 2008," Cornwell's statement said. "Ben has never sexually assaulted anyone, especially Andrea McNulty. The timing of the lawsuit and the absence of a criminal complaint and a criminal investigation are the most compelling evidence of the absence of any criminal conduct."

Cornwell said Roethlisberger "will be fully exonerated" should an investigation be commenced.

The attorney listed for McNulty, Calvin Dunlap of Reno, could not be reached for comment, the newspaper said.