Judge dismisses sexual assault lawsuit against Dallas Cowboys star Dak Prescott
COLLIN COUNTY— A Collin County judge dismissed the sexual assault lawsuit filed against Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott on Wednesday and scheduled a hearing to levy sanctions against the plaintiff and her legal team.
In her deliberation, Judge Angela Tucker said the lawsuit lacked merit and the plaintiff's claims of sexual assault and defamation were unfounded.
"This is literally an example of what you should not do as a lawyer," Levi G. McCathern, II, an attorney for Prescott said. "It's the absolute worst thing you can do. There's a thing in Texas law where you can't file a lawsuit for the purposes of harassment or embarrassment or just to go get money when you don't have a claim. And that's exactly what these people did."
The civil lawsuit against Dak Prescott
Earlier this year, a woman filed a civil lawsuit accusing Prescott of sexual assault and sought millions in damages. The suit alleged the incident happened in the parking lot of a Dallas strip club in 2017. The woman claimed Prescott invited her out with two members of his "entourage" and other women to an establishment in Plano, later getting into a black SUV where Prescott allegedly exposed himself and "used physical force and sexually assaulted" her.
Prescott has always denied the allegations, his lawyers calling them "patently false" and "heinous" with "no basis in reality."
"[Dak is] absolutely ecstatic," McCathern said. "He's very happy. And yet he was not as happy as you think, because he always knew that he'd do nothing wrong."
In May, the Dallas Police Department dropped the criminal investigation into Dak Prescott. A Dallas police source said the sexual assault investigation is over due to insufficient evidence.
"Despite [the plaintiff] and her legal team's relentless efforts to extort money and damage Dak's reputation, justice has consistently prevailed and will continue to do so," McCathern, said in a statement. "The original lies by Ms. Shores, her team, and their recent failed attempt to sue him civilly are all just a continuation of their extortion plot against Dak. These ploys distract from the trauma of legitimate sexual assault survivors and undermine the progress that our society has made in supporting them. We are proud that Dak stands up against this injustice and thankful Judge Tucker agrees".
The judge scheduled a hearing for mid-September to determine what sanctions should be levied against the plaintiff and her legal team "for bringing frivolous claims."