CLEVELAND — Professional boxer Adrien Broner has been ordered to pay more than $800,000 to the victim of a sexual assault that took place in June 2018 at The Park Social Lounge in Cleveland.
The civil judgment came down in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas on Tuesday. Common Pleas Court Judge Nancy Margaret Russo awarded the victim $661 in economic damages; $250,000 in non-economic, emotional damages; $500,000 in punitive damages, $31,955 in attorneys’ fees; and $1,136.74 in costs.
The court also awarded prejudgment and post-judgment interest, meaning that as of Tuesday, Broner would owe approximately an additional $46,000, bringing the total to almost $830,000.
The lawsuit, filed in June 2019, alleged Broner attacked the victim—who he'd never met—as she sat with two other women on a couch in the crowded nightclub. Broner, according to the complaint, “thrust himself on to [the victim], pinned her beneath his body, and began kissing her.” The victim said she struggled to free herself but was unable to push him off of her as he stuck his tongue down her throat, kissed her neck and body, and continued pressing himself on her.
One of Broner’s friends pulled him off of her after a bystander snapped a photo of the assault. Broner was indicted in October 2018 on charges including gross sexual imposition. In April of this year, he pleaded guilty to assault and unlawful restraint and received a sentence of probation.
The victim testified at Tuesday's hearing about the impact of Broner's attack on her, including months of counseling and therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder. Broner elected not to appear in court.
The victim's lead counsel, Ashlie Case Sletvold of The Chandra Law Firm LLC said, “One would hope this judgment will teach Adrien Broner to keep his hands to himself.”
According to TMZ, Broner was involved in a second case involving sexual misconduct last year. He was also arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman at a shopping mall in Atlanta.
Broner has a professional record of 33-4-1 with 24 knockouts. He has competed most recently in the welterweight division, losing to Manny Pacquiao in January.
