Former 49ers defensive lineman Ray McDonald was expected to file a lawsuit on Monday suing the woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her on December 13.
The lawsuit will allege that the woman defamed him and prevented him from earning a living by making the charges. The 49ers released McDonald within days of the woman’s charges, claiming he had “a pattern of poor decision-making.”
Last Aug. 31, McDonald was arrested after he allegedly fought at his home with his fiancée, who was 10 weeks pregnant. Before that, in May, San Jose police officers were called to his house because he and his fiancée had an argument and a gun was fired.
After he was not charged in November for the August incident, McDonald said, “We’re doing stuff to try to better our relationship. To make sure that we’re not putting ourselves in situations like this because we do care about each other. We love each other,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
McDonald has unsuccessfully tried to join other teams as a free agent since his release. His lawyer, Steve M. DeFilippis, said at Inside Bay Area on Sunday that he believes prosecutors will drop the sexual assault charges against his client, but the fact that they have not already dropped the charges prevents his client from signing with an NFL team. Inside Bay Area said sources with the investigation confirmed that McDonald will not be charged.
DeFilippis stated, “In the eyes of the NFL teams, the unresolved threat of charges being filed against him, even though factually unfounded, continues to present a roadblock to this remarkable athlete being able to move forward in his career. This lawsuit is intended to vindicate him … and return his good name.”
DeFilippis pointed out that McDonald’s home-surveillance system took videos of the accuser enjoying “clearly consensual” sex with McDonald in his hot tub. McDonald’s accuser said she was assaulted after she fell and hit her head near his pool, which rendered her memory ineffective. She maintained that she woke up the next morning naked in bed with the athlete. She added that McDonald first told her he let her sleep in the bed because she was tired, and only later revealed after she prodded him that they had sex together.
But McDonald said the accuser was always alert, that the next day they went to the store to buy liquor, then had sex several more times that day, which was shown on the video from his surveillance system.
McDonald’s lawsuit also claims that the woman remained at his home without him and called him numerous times in front of witnesses, and her demeanor did not reflect any disquietude. The lawsuit seeks damages over the $25,000 minimum necessary to file the suit.
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