GBI revisits scene of alleged Roethlisberger assault

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By Christian Boone

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

MILLEDGEVILLE -- GBI crime scene technicians returned to the Capital City Club on Thursday, site of an alleged sexual assault by Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

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FILE - In this Jan. 5, 2008 file photo, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger reacts as the Jacksonville Jaguars kick a game-winning field goal during the fourth quarter of an NFL wild card playoff football game in Pittsburgh. A 20-year-old college student has accused Roethlisberger of sexually assaulting herat a nightclub early Friday, March 5, 2010, during a night on the town near where he owns a lake home. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

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GBI spokesman John Bankhead said agents were not "reconstructing the scene," as had been reported by some media outlets.

"We have to do an investigation that's ongoing and there's nothing else to say about it," Bankhead told the AJC. "[The GBI] is not taking over the investigation."

The Milledgeville Police Department remains the lead agency on the Roethlisberger case. They have not released information about the investigation since holding a brief news conference Monday afternoon.

When asked Thursday if they had scheduled a second interview with the Steelers quarterback, police spokeswoman Diane Kelly repeated a now-familiar refrain.

"There is nothing new to report," she told the AJC Thursday.

Investigators looking to clear Roethlisberger have also descended on Milledgeville, attorney Ed Garland confirmed to the AJC.

"The facts will show that Ben Roethlisberger is completely innocent of any crime," Garland said. He would not discuss whether Roethlisberger would agree to a second interview with Milledgeville Police.

The only people talking, it seems, are doing so anonymously. KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh is reporting Roethlisberger told police he did not have intercourse with his accuser, a 20-year-old Georgia College and State University sophomore. The station said the two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback had "contact" with the Georgia College and State University sophomore that "was not consummated," and afterward, she slipped and bumped her head.

Locally, the story has moved off the front pages. GCSU student say they're more concerned about a reported sexual assault than they are with the identity of the alleged perpetrator.

"To me, the bigger story is that a student was possibly [sexually assaulted]," said Georgia College and State University senior Claire Dykes, editor of the school's student newspaper, The Colonnade.

Only three rapes and four sexual offenses were reported over the past three years on the GCSU campus (which includes downtown Milledgeville), according to a recent study funded by the Department of Justice and conducted by the Center for Public Integrity. The Colonnade reported the study's findings last Friday -- the same day the accusation was leveled against Roethlisberger following an alleged encounter at the Capital City Club.

"There's definitely something different about this campus," said Samantha Cole, 19, a sophomore at GCSU, which has roughly 4,000 female students. "Everyone looks after each other here. I've never felt unsafe."

The CPI study found that one in five women attending college will be sexually assaulted or raped by the time she graduates. The odds are significantly lower at GCSU, though, as the study concluded, such crimes are typically under reported nationwide.

Ed Garland, one of Roethlisberger's attorneys, has maintained his client's innocence. Representing the accuser, attorneys Lee Parks and David Walbert said in a statement that the woman "has been, and will be, available to the authorities to assist them in the criminal investigation."

TMZ.com, quoting anonymous sources, reports Roethlisberger's entourage last Thursday night included a Steelers teammate, offensive lineman Willie Colon, and two off-duty Pennsylvania police officers. The site also claims police have seized surveillance footage from within the Capital City Club, where the alleged assault occurred. Police would not comment.

--Staff writer Rhonda Cook contributed to this report.