National Football League

Big Ben trial to be heard in Reno, Nev.

Published Aug. 4, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

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The sexual assault civil case brought against Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will go ahead in Reno, Nev., despite his legal team's efforts to get the case moved, a court decided Thursday.

Roethlisberger, 29, is accused of sexually assaulting Andrea McNulty, a former VIP hostess at Harrah's Lake Tahoe casino hotel, in July 2008.

The now 33-year-old woman filed the civil suit against the Steelers quarterback in August 2009, claiming Roethlisberger lured her into his penthouse suite and forced her to have sex with him.

For two years, however, the case has stalled as Nevada courts decided whether the case should be heard in Reno, where the case was filed, or Lake Tahoe, where the alleged incident took place.

McNulty's lawyer told the Reno Gazette-Journal Thursday that his client was pleased with the decision to hold the trial in Reno, while Roethlisberger's lawyer David Cornwell said the decision changed nothing.

"Today's ruling does not affect the likely outcome of this case," Cornwell told the Gazette-Journal. "Wherever it is tried, we are confident that, after considering Ms. McNulty's own words, the jury will conclude that Ben has been falsely accused."

In March 2010, the two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback was named in a separate sexual assault investigation in Georgia. No charges were filed in that case due to lack of evidence.

Roethlisberger married long-time on-again, off-again girlfriend Ashley Harlan last month in a ceremony in front of around 600 guests in Pittsburgh.

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