Judge rejects Dwight Howard's attempt to dismiss sexual assault lawsuit / News - Basketnews.com

Dwight Howard's attempt to dismiss the sexual assault lawsuit filed against him was declined by a court in Georgia. Still, no trial has been scheduled.

Credit: AFP/Scanpix Credit AFP/Scanpix

In July 2023,Dwight Howard got into the spotlight when it became public that a man named Stephen Harper had filed a lawsuit against the veteran player for sexual assault, among multiple other charges. Howard was alleged to have performed multiple sexual actson the person against his will.

The former NBA All-Star claimed that the lawsuit that was filed in 2021 no longer exists. However, his attempt to dismiss the assault lawsuit was denied by the court. The judge in Georgia presiding over the case rejected Howard's motion for summary judgment, stating that there were triable issues of material facts raised by Harper's evidence. Still, no trial has been scheduled.

The lawsuit detailed how Harper and Howard had initially connected on Instagram, leading to explicit conversations and eventually a physical encounter at the athlete's home, where Harper alleged he was assaulted and forced into a threesome. Howard's lawyer stated that the encounter was consensual and that all three parties had agreed to it.

Howard admitted to the sexual encounter but denied assaulting Harper. He submitted text messages from the victim that allegedly showed Harper asking Howard to meet again after the incident. However, Harper disputed the authenticity of those messages.

Support BasketNews so we could make even better content.