Dwight Howard: Action To Dismiss Sexual Assault Case Was Denied
The court rejected NBA player Dwight Howard ‘s request to have the assault complaint against him dismissed. Stephen Harper had alleged he was made to join a threesome at Howard’s home. According to the judge overseeing the case, Harper’s testimony produced triable issues of significant facts, so the judge denied Howard’s move for summary judgment.
Dwight Howard acknowledged the sex encounter but denied hitting Harper in response to the lawsuit. He turned in texts he said Harper sent him begging to get together again following the alleged attack. Harper, though, questioned the veracity of these texts.
The court’s ruling means that Howard and Harper must now get ready for the case’s trial. In the beginning, Harper had sued Howard on charges of false detention, assault, battery, and intentional infliction of mental distress.
Harper claimed he was physically abused and coerced into a threesome at Howard’s house after an explicit communication between the two that started on Instagram, according to the lawsuit.
Harper’s lawsuit requested unspecified damages, alleging that Howard forced Harper to perform sexual activities on him without permission during the visit. Conversely, Howard’s attorney claimed that the three of them had consented to have a consensual intimate encounter.
Dwight Howard has to refute allegations of violence.
Furthermore, Dwight Howard and his former partner, Tiffany Render, have been embroiled in a custody dispute concerning their daughter, who is 14 years old. This time, a jury will decide the matter, in spite of Howard’s assertions that the assault allegations sprang from unfulfilled love after Harper severed ties.
Due to this legal battle, Howard’s personal life and the assault lawsuit are now in the public eye. It’s still unclear how the trial will proceed and how the former NBA player will fare in the end.
