Woman Ordered To Pay Former NFL CB After False Sexual Assault Allegation
An Ohio jury ruled in favor of NFL free agent Gareon Conley on Thursday in the yearslong civil case regarding allegations of sexual assault levied against him ahead of the 2017 NFL draft.
The accusation against Gareon Conley came shortly before the 2017 NFL draft, in which he had been projected to be a high first-round pick. The 23-year-old woman alleged that he had sexually assaulted her in a Cleveland hotel room. Conley's attorney said the sex was consensual.
According to court records filed online late Monday, the jury ruled in Conley's favor in both matters and awarded him $300 in damages, which is all he requested, in a case that he said was more about vindication than money.
"While many high-profile defendants look to quickly settle these types of claims, I took the unusual step of filing a counterclaim for malicious prosecution because I was wrongfully accused and wanted justice," Conley said in a statement released by his attorney.
Gareon Conley was selected 24th overall in the 2017 NFL draft."While the allegations against me cost me millions of dollars, my counterclaim was never about recovering money from my accuser. It was about clearing my name and restoring my reputation."
Conley's attorney, John Camillus, presented jurors with testimony from a former NFL general manager that the accusations cost Conley a higher selection in the draft and likely shaved more than $2 million off of Conley's rookie contract. But Conley only asked the jury to award him $300.
«It was never about the money. It was always about clearing his name and restoring his reputation,» Camillus said.
Camillus said the accusations have weighed on Conley for the last five years.
«Nobody wants to be accused of a crime they did not commit,» Camillus said. «All the more so when it's a crime as serious and as vile as rape and all the more so when you are in the public spotlight as Gareon is.»
