LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia man has dropped his lawsuit accusing former NBA star Dwight Howard of sexual assault after Howard’s attorneys alleged the man deleted text messages showing their encounter was consensual.
Stephen Harper dismissed the case in a filing Tuesday in Gwinnett County Court. The dismissal was with prejudice, meaning he cannot refile the complaint.
The filing does not provide any explanation for the dismissal. Harper’s lawyers, Olga Izmaylova and Sadeer Sabbak, did not immediately respond to phone and email messages Thursday.
Justin Bailey, Howard’s attorney, said his client did not pay Harper or enter into any other agreement with him. He added that Howard declined to comment on the firing.
Bailey pointed to court documents he filed in July accusing Harper of deleting text messages and presenting a false account of her conversations with Howard about the 2021 sexual encounter at Howard’s Georgia home. Howard’s lawyers said the missing messages showed Harper consented to the encounter and planned to “expose” Howard after Howard stopped responding to her advances.
The complaint sought sanctions against Harper and his attorneys, including payment of Howard’s attorney fees.
Gwinnett County police said Harper filed a police report nearly a year after the encounter but did not meet with a detective despite repeated attempts to schedule an interview.
Howard played for the Atlanta Hawks during the 2016–17 season.
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