Roethlisberger hires big name defense attorney for latest claim

It looks like Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger is going on the offensive in his latest sexual abuse claim by a 20-year-old. The QB is hiring a big time defense lawyer in Georgia to fight the latest claim of abuse that was handed to him on Thursday:

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has hired prominent Atlanta criminal defense lawyer Edward T.M. Garland, the attorney who defended Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens against murder charges in 2000.

“I can confirm to you that I have been retained,” Garland told the Tribune-Review this morning before he called the Milledgeville Police Department.

Garland said Roethlisberger hasn’t been charged with a crime in connection with an accusation by a 20-year-old Milledgeville student who told police the quarterback sexually assaulted her in a dingy room of a popular nightclub early Friday morning.

Representing Lewis, Garland skillfully navigated past initial homicide charges linked to a street fistfight in the Buckhead section of Atlanta after the Super Bowl. His client agreed to help the prosecution and pleaded to obstructing justice before serving a year of probation.

Roethlisberger is believed to have departed Georgia shortly after the sorority woman alleged he attacked her near the VIP room of the Capital City tavern, a popular dance club in downtown Milledgeville.