Mason Faces $20 Million Lawsuit
A multimillion civil suit has been filed against Charlotte Hornets star Anthony Mason and his cousin by two teenage girls who say the men raped them in a Queens home during the NBA's All-Star weekend.
The suit, filed in State Supreme Court in Queens on Thursday, seeks about $20 million in compensatory and punitive damages from each man, the girls' lawyer, Barry Washor, said early today.
Mason, 31, and Will Duggins, 24, pleaded guilty June 25 to endangering the two girls, ages 14 and 15, after prosecutors dropped sex abuse and statutory rape charges.
"This lawsuit seeks redress in civil courts," Washor said. "I know we have a strong case. There is a lot of forensic evidence. The girls passed a polygraph test that fully corroborates their story."
Mason's agent, Don Cronson, said the charges were meritless.
"The charge they pleaded to was a greatly reduced misdemeanor charge," Cronson said. "They basically pled guilty to bad judgment."
The more serious charges were dropped because DNA tests failed to link the Charlotte Hornets player to the girls, prosecutor Kenneth Appelbaum said. Mason could have gotten eight years in prison on those charges. He was ordered to serve 200 hours of community service with the homeless at the Progressive Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C.
"It's another attempt to squeeze money out of my client," Cronson said. "It's baseless and it will be shown so as the suit moves along."
Prosecutors and detectives said Mason and Duggins, an unemployed construction worker, met the girls during a benefit basketball game at York College in Queens on Feb. 6. Mason did not appear in the All-Star game that was being played in New York that weekend.
Mason, a former New York Knicks star who was born in Queens, was traded to Charlotte in 1996. He pleaded guilty in November 1997 to disorderly conduct after scuffling with a police officer in Times Square in July 1996. He paid a $250 fine and apologized to police.
Washor said he also sent a letter to the NBA last month, asking that the league launch an inquiry on whether Mason has breached morality clauses in his NBA contract.
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