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Dwight Howard, who played for over 18 seasons in the NBA, has been accused of sexual assault by a man named Stephen Harper. New details of the alleged incident have now been reported by Radar Online, who obtained court documents.
Harper claimed that the two met each other through social media, where they allegedly sent each other explicit photos. Following this, the two allegedly agreed to see Howard in his Georgia residence on July 19, 2021.
Upon meeting, Harper claimed that Dwight Howard wanted to have sexual activity with him and another man, who was dressed up as a woman named "Kitty." Harper was allegedly uncomfortable about the proposition and wanted no part of it, but was told by Howard that he was: "Going to do whatever" and "Going to like it."
According to Howard's lawyer, all activities were "consensual."
Dwight Howard's lawyer responds to sexual assault allegations against his client
Justin Bailey, one of Dwight Howard's lawyers, put out a statement regarding the situation, as per ESPN's Baxter Holmes. Bailey said the private encounter had been made public for the purpose of profit, considering the celebrity status of Dwight Howard.
"What was a private consensual encounter was made public for profit and Mr. Howard looks forward to bringing the truth to light in the court of law," Bailey told ESPN. "This report was made following (the alleged victim) being blocked on social media and after the first demand for payment was rejected."
"Despite being an easy target due to the subject matter and his status as a celebrity, Mr. Howard chose to trust in the justice system and will rely on all future court filings to speak for themselves," Bailey added.
Stephen Harper's lawyer, Olga Izmaylova, said a proper and thorough investigation was done before the lawsuit was filed.
"We fully anticipated Mr. Howard to raise the issue of consent in his lawyer," Izmaylova said. "We had some independent investigation to conduct and Mr. Harper had some private factors to consider before we all felt ready to proceed with the lawsuit."
