Video: Accuser says Roethlisberger had temper

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. (AP) - The college student who accused Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger of sexually assaulting her said she didn't try to fight him off because he appeared to anger easily.

"I noticed throughout the night he kind of had like a short temper, like he would get really, like, defensive," she told police in her second interview with them on March 5, about 12 hours after she said the assault took place. She didn't elaborate further on what made her think the quarterback had a short temper.

The accuser's interview is among more than 50 audio and video recordings released Wednesday by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The prosecutor determined there wasn't enough evidence to warrant criminal charges after the investigation concluded, and he said the woman ultimately asked him not to prosecute the quarterback.

One of the new videos shows Roethlisberger smiling, giving people high-fives and pumping his fist at the club where the woman said she was assaulted.

The 20-year-old accuser was interviewed twice by police - the first time shortly after she made the accusation early March 5 in the small college town of Milledgeville, about 80 miles southeast of Atlanta. The second interview was about 12 hours later at the Milledgeville police station.

The woman sounded intoxicated when she spoke with Milledgeville officer Jason Lopez in the first interview. Her words were slurred and she even says at one point, "Obviously, I'm drunk." An audio recording of that interview was made.

During the first interview, she said she repeatedly told Roethlisberger, "I really don't think this is OK," but couldn't stop him from having sex with her in the bathroom of a bar.

"I don't know what I can ... do," she said. "I'm a little girl and he's a big boy."

The victim told police she is 5-foot-4 and weighs 145 pounds. Roethlisberger is listed at 6-5 and 241 pounds.

Lopez asked the woman if she knew of any reason why Roethlisberger would feel "it was OK to do this to you."

While the accuser acknowledged wearing an explicit name tag, which was left over from a friend's birthday party earlier in the night, she denied leading him on.

"I wasn't forward in any way," she said. "I wasn't like, 'Oh my gosh, have sex with me because you're an NFL superstar.' I really don't know why (it happened)."

The next afternoon, the woman went to the police station for a follow-up interview that was videotaped. She was calm and matter-of-fact when discussing the previous night, struggling to remember a few details but adamant that she had been raped by Roethlisberger.

In the video, the woman's face was blurred. She was wearing a navy blue T-shirt and jeans had her blond hair pulled back. She told police she didn't think trying to fight Roethlisberger would stop the assault.

"I figured it wouldn't help anything," she said. "I didn't want, obviously, him to hurt me any more than he was going to."

In Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger took part in a Steelers practice session but didn't talk with the media. He was escorted off the field by a team spokesman.

The new videos include the first extensive comments by the woman that have been made public, though written statements she gave investigators have been released. She has declined interview requests. The Associated Press generally doesn't name those who say they were sexually assaulted, and authorities haven't released her name.

The quarterback was suspended for the first six games of the upcoming season, though commissioner Roger Goodell said he could reduce it to four games if Roethlisberger shows he is committed to improving his off-the-field behavior.

Roethlisberger also is being sued in Nevada by a woman who says he sexually assaulted her there in 2008. There were no charges brought in that case.

His attorney has denied he did anything wrong in Georgia, where he owns a lake house near Milledgeville.

In suspending Roethlisberger, Goodell has said the 28-year-old failed to meet the league's expectations for player behavior with his carousing.

One of the new videos shows the quarterback partying at the club where the accusation was made. The shaky 49-second video, shot by a member of Roethlisberger's entourage, shows the quarterback, wearing a black Nike baseball cap and black T-shirt with a devil's face on it.

Most of what Roethlisberger is saying is drowned out by loud music in the club, but he can be heard asking a girl what her drink tastes like.

He repeatedly gives high fives to people off camera. When the friend shooting the video asks him to say hi, he strikes a pose, punches his fist twice in the air and flashes a huge grin at the camera.

Several of Roethlisberger's teammates said they didn't even know the DVDs were being released. "It's not even something that's being discussed," backup quarterback Charlie Batch said. "It has nothing to do with football."

Offensive lineman Willie Colon - the only teammate with Roethlisberger at the Georgia nightclub - said he hasn't had a chance to speak with Roethlisberger about the case since the tapes were made public.

"I had no idea that it was going to be released to the public," Colon said. "All I can do is just deal with whatever comes along with it. I just want to let everybody know I have a family and I'm a good man and I spoke freely in my interview" with Georgia investigators.

Colon's hourlong interview with a GBI agent was one of the videos released Wednesday. He shed little light on the case, saying he didn't even know anything had occurred until he saw police at the club. He wasn't with Roethlisbgerer afterward, leaving in a separate car, though he was concerned about what impact the accusations would have.

"I'm a player, too," Colon told the agent in his interview. "I can't get in trouble. We've got to be more cautious about putting (ourselves) in situations where people can harm us."

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Associated Press Writer Joe Mandak in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.