Pelicans' Williamson accused of rape in LA civil suit
PHOENIX: Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans walks up the court during the fourth quarter of the game against the Phoenix Suns at PHX Arena on February 27, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. - AFP
LOS ANGELES: New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson has been accused of rape in a civil lawsuit in Los Angeles, court filings showed on Friday. A filing made in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday by a woman identified as Jane Doe said the former No.1 NBA draft pick Williamson raped her at a Beverly Hills apartment on two occasions in 2020.
'These two incidents were not isolated,' the lawsuit states. 'Defendant continued to abuse, rape, assault, and batter Plaintiff in California and other states, including Louisiana and Texas, until the relationship ended in 2023.'
The accuser is seeking damages for assault, sexual battery, domestic violence, burglary, stalking and false imprisonment. Williamson's attorneys said in a statement emailed to AFP the allegations were 'categorically false and reckless,' adding that the NBA star's legal team would seek 'significant damages for this defamatory lawsuit.'
The lawsuit said the woman dated Williamson over five years from 2018 to 2023. 'During the course of their relationship, Defendant engaged in a continuing pattern of abusive, controlling, and threatening behavior toward Plaintiff,' the lawsuit states. 'His wrongful conduct occurred in Louisiana and continued thereafter across several states. The abuse was sexual, physical, emotional, and financial in nature.'
The lawsuit adds that Williamson carried out 'acts of criminal violence' against the woman which included choking, beating and pointing a loaded gun at her head. The suit alleges Williamson was 'either drunk or on cocaine' during the assaults. Williamson's attorneys have accused the woman of trying to extort money from the Pelicans ace. 'We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness and we unequivocally deny them,' a statement from legal firm Barrasso-Usdin-Kupperman-Freeman & Sarver said. 'This appears to be an attempt to exploit a professional athlete driven by a financial motive rather than any legitimate grievance.'
The statement said Williamson and the woman had not dated but engaged in a 'consensual, casual relationship' that began when he was 18. 'At no point during or immediately after that relationship did the plaintiff raise any concerns,' Williamson's attorneys said. 'Only after the friendship ended did she begin demanding millions of dollars. Mr. Williamson reported the plaintiff's extortion attempts to law enforcement. We are confident that the legal process will expose the truth and fully vindicate Mr. Williamson.' — AFP
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