FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., April 11 (UPI) -- Two lawyers behind multiple lawsuits against high-powered attorney Alan M. Dershowitz, which alleged he sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl, have agreed to drop the civil actions and said they shouldn't have been filed in the first place.
The lawyers, Paul G. Cassell and Bradley J. Edwards, filed sexual misconduct charges against Dershowitz in December 2014 as part of a Florida civil case -- claiming the former adviser to the O.J. Simpson "Dream Team" defense team had sex with their client when she was a minor.
The chargesnamed Dershowitz and others in claiming the underage woman, referred to as Jane Doe 3, was forced to have sex with them at the behest of a Florida billionaire -- also a registered sex offender -- to whom Dershowitz was providing legal assistance.
Dershowitz, though, said in a counterclaim that no such woman was ever in physical proximity to him during any of the alleged assaults.
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In his counterclaim, Dershowitz said the two lawyers had failed to adequately investigate the woman's claims before filing their suit. In response, Edwards and Cassell accused the former Harvard professor of defamation.
Former FBI chief Louis Freeh led an independent investigation into the woman's claims and ultimately concluded that they could not be corroborated.
"The totality of the evidence found during the investigation refutes the allegations made against Professor Dershowitz," Freeh said last week.
Friday, Cassell and Edwards said that the accusations were not valid and dropped their suits against Dershowitz.
"I am pleased that the litigation has concluded," Dershowitz said, saying he is grateful the lawyers acknowledged the mistake and dismissed the suits.
"I feel completely gratified by the result," he added. "They have acknowledged that they made a mistake and they have withdrawn all the charges."
"Dershowitz has produced travel and other records for the relevant times which he relies on to establish that he could not have been present when the alleged misconduct occurred," the attorneys said in a joint statement. "He has also produced other evidence that he relies upon to refute the credibility of the allegations against him.
"Edwards and Cassell acknowledge that it was a mistake to have filed sexual misconduct accusations against Dershowitz; and the sexual misconduct accusations made in all public filings are hereby withdrawn. Dershowitz also withdraws his accusations that Edwards and Cassell acted unethically."
It's unclear whether Cassell, Edwards and the woman who made the accusations will face additional consequences stemming from the lawsuits.
"As far as I'm concerned, this matter is over. It's resolved," Dershowitz said. "The last 15 months have been torture for me and my family."
