Boxer Adrien Broner sued by woman who claims he sexually assaulted her in Ohio bar
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Former world champion boxer Adrien Broner has been sued by a woman who claims he sexually assaulted her at a nightclub in Ohio last summer.
The lawsuit, filed in Cleveland on Tuesday, alleges Broner, 29, pinned the 35-year-old woman on a couch at the Park Social Club in June 2018, and began kissing her without her permission.
The woman says she tried but failed to push Broner away, and that someone pulled him off of her when a camera flashed.
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Broner was indicted on sexual imposition, assault and unlawful restraint charges after the 35-year-old reported the incident to police. Broner received probation in April after pleading guilty to assault and unlawful restraint.
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The woman, according to Cleveland.com, is seeking at least $15,000 in damages and wants the opportunity to have the case brought before a jury.
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Ian Friedman, an attorney who represented Broner in the criminal case, says the lawsuit's claims are baseless — and asserts that Broner is being targeted for an "easy payday."
News of the allegations against Broner were published in January, around the same time the boxer was preparing for his match against Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas. Officials unanimously declared Pacquiao defeated Broner in the fight.
A lawyer for the woman who was allegedly assaulted seemingly took a swipe at Broner's defeat in a press release obtained by the news outlet.
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“While we may never know why Mr. Broner decided to walk up to a perfect stranger and attack her, we do know he did a better job of keeping his hands to himself during the Pacquiao fight than he did at Park Social," attorney Ashlie Case Sletvold said in a statement. “Women have a right to exist in public spaces without being manhandled."
"The brave women who take a stand against this type of abuse are helping to bring about a world in which everyone’s bodily integrity is respected," the statement continued.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.