Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson is facing a $5 million lawsuit after a woman accused him of raping her sometime in the early 1990s. The suit was first reported by the Times Union of Albany.
The woman alleged Tyson met her in a nightclub in Albany, New York, and then attempted to rape her while they were in a limousine. As a result, she said, she has been forced to endure “physical, psychological and emotional injury,” in the years since.
The woman’s affidavit did not provide a specific date of the attack, saying it happened around the same time beauty pageant contestant Desiree Washington said Tyson raped her in Indianapolis.
Mike Tyson watches the first half of an NBA game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the New Orleans Pelicans, Feb. 27, 2022, in Los Angeles. A woman has accused the former heavyweight boxing champion of raping her some time in the early 1990s.
(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)
Tyson was convicted of raping Washington Feb. 10, 1992, and served three years in prison. The lawsuit from the unidentified woman was filed in New York under the state’s Adult Survivors Act, which gives sexual assault victims a one-year window to take legal action over assaults that allegedly happened decades ago.
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The affidavit says Tyson made physical contact with her and attempted to kiss her almost immediately after she entered the limousine.
“I told him no several times and asked him to stop, but he continued to attack me,” the woman said. “He then pulled my pants off and violently raped me.”
Former boxer Mike Tyson
(REUTERS/Steve Marcus/File Photo)
The woman has chosen not to publicly reveal her name.
Darren Seilback, an attorney representing the woman, said in a separate filing that his office did its due diligence before taking on the case. Seilback said his office determined the allegations were “highly credible.”
Former professional boxer Mike Tyson attends a Celebration of Smiles event hosted by Dionne Warwick on her 81st birthday to benefit Operation Smile and The Kind Music Academy Dec. 12, 2021, in Malibu, Calif.
(JC Olivera/Getty Images)
Tyson’s representatives have not released any comment.
Tyson had a three-year run as the undisputed world heavyweight champion from 1987-1990.
Actress and film director Robin Givens filed for divorce from Tyson in the late-1980s, ending a marriage characterized by “unprovoked rages of violence and destruction.”
Tyson’s second wife, Monica Turner, filed for divorce in 2002, following accusations of adultery during their six-year marriage. Tyson married his third wife Monica Spicer in 2009, shortly after her release from prison on a fraud conviction.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
