INDIANAPOLIS -- A 22-year-old hotel receptionist has filed a lawsuit against Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle Eric Foster, claiming he sexually assaulted her in his room before the AFC Championship Game in January.
The complaint accuses Foster of luring the woman into his room at the University Place Hotel in Indianapolis on Jan. 24, before the Colts played the New York Jets, under the pretense that there was a maintenance problem.
Once she was in his room, Foster exposed himself to the woman, touched and groped her, and forced the woman to "engage in deviate sexual acts," the complaint alleges.
In the suit, which was filed April 13 in Marion County Circuit Court and seeks unspecified damages, the woman accuses Foster of sexual assault, battery, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Colts president Bill Polian released a brief statement Wednesday, acknowledging the suit against Foster seeking monetary damages.
“The alleged incident was investigated by law enforcement officials at the time the allegation was made," Polian said. "The appropriate authorities decided that there was no basis for charges to be filed.
“Based upon those facts, we have no reason to take any action, or to make any further comment on this matter. Eric Foster is a member of our squad and will participate in our off-season program.”
Foster's agent, Joby Branion, and his attorney, Jim Voyles, didn't return calls seeking comment Tuesday. The woman's attorney, April Board, also didn't return messages seeking comment Tuesday.
The woman decided to sue Foster after prosecutors declined to file charges against him.
The woman, who is a student at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis, filed a report with IUPUI police after the alleged assault. The Associated Press isn't naming the woman because it generally doesn't identify alleged victims of sexual assault.
Campus police interviewed the woman and Foster and reviewed surveillance videos and the alleged crime scene, IUPUI spokesman Rich Schneider said. The hotel is located on campus property.
Barbara Crawford, chief of the Marion County prosecutor's office's criminal charging division, said a detective from IUPUI's police department turned over his report on the alleged assault to her staff in February to weigh possible charges. She said she and several staff members reviewed the officer's report and decided not to file criminal charges against Foster.
"We reviewed it and we made a determination that we could not file charges," Crawford said. "There was not sufficient factual information to allow us to go forward with criminal charges."
Foster has 72 tackles in two seasons with the Colts. He started five of 16 games in 2009 and appeared as a reserve defensive lineman in the divisional playoffs, the AFC Championship Game and Super Bowl XLIV.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press