IL - Sex Suit Against Wm Kennedy Smith - case dismissed

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/news/082504_ns_kennedy_smith.html

A former personnel assistant to Chicago doctor William Kennedy Smith filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing the nephew of the late John F. Kennedy of sexually assaulting her inside his North Side home in 1999.
The suit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court Wednesday afternoon, names Smith as the defendant and seeks in excess of $50,000. The plaintiff's attorney, Kevin O'Reilly, could not be reached for comment.
In December of 1991 Smith was acquitted of rape and battery charges following a televised trial in West Palm Beach, Florida.
~~~~~~

That's the entire story. Now why would she wait 5 years? Why no criminal charges? I watched his trial on CTV and I think he has some problems.

there used to be a sign in front of the palm beach mansion....TRESPASSERS WILL BE VIOLATED"

I just don't get our Country's "love affair" with the Kennedy's!!!!


I'll get chit for saying it but JFK was NOT a stellar president (he was middling at best).Yes it's tragic he was murdered but Im sick of people acting like he was the second coming of Christ!!!


Teddy is a murderer....period and the rest are drunk womanizers yet for some reason theyre up for sainthood!

John -John couldnt pass the damn bar exam and seemed to do little more than "edit" a magazine and rollerblade shirtless in Central Park and the other one got his 20something+ year marriage annulled(and after having a pack of kids!)-classy huh?


I cannot stand the Kennedy's and sorry if my ranting gets this thread dumped in the 'Lot but they just get my ire up!!!!! :behindbar



As an Irish-American Catholic I am ashamed of them and cant fathom how they are so esteemed!!!!!!!

messiecake said:

I just don't get our Country's "love affair" with the Kennedy's!!!!


I'll get chit for saying it but JFK was NOT a stellar president (he was middling at best).Yes it's tragic he was murdered but Im sick of people acting like he was the second coming of Christ!!!


Teddy is a murderer....period and the rest are drunk womanizers yet for some reason theyre up for sainthood!

John -John couldnt pass the damn bar exam and seemed to do little more than "edit" a magazine and rollerblade shirtless in Central Park and the other one got his 20something+ year marriage annulled(and after having a pack of kids!)-classy huh?


I cannot stand the Kennedy's and sorry if my ranting gets this thread dumped in the 'Lot but they just get my ire up!!!!! :behindbar



As an Irish-American Catholic I am ashamed of them and cant fathom how they are so esteemed!!!!!!!

Click to expand...

I love you, messicake. The tragic deaths part sucks, but you are right on the $ with your analysis.

We were in the Hamptons a while back and you should have seen Ted trying to squeeze his fat tushy into this little sports car. It was a riot!

ted used to come into my mass. trial court law library...he was a bilious hungover toad. and i have a pic of his bare butt hovering over some female in a dinghy off hyannisport. this all goes back to the daddy, joe, who made his money running booze during prohibition,big womanizer. (sorry no link. taking my chastisement now).oh...and let's not forget mary jo kopechne...dead from ted's cowardice. i respected JFK for bay of pigs...and was at his funeral.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4450967,00.html

CHICAGO (AP) - A woman claims in a lawsuit that William Kennedy Smith sexually assaulted her in 1999, and her lawyer said Thursday that she did not come forward at the time because she was intimidated by his wealth and connections.
The Kennedy cousin cleared of rape charges in 1991 said his family and personal history made him a target for ``outrageous'' allegations. And the woman herself acknowledged having had a relationship with Smith some months after the alleged assault.
In the suit filed Wednesday in Cook County Circuit Court, 28-year-old Audra Soulias alleges that after a night of drinking in 1999, Smith, now 43, forced her out of a cab and into his home where he sexually assaulted her. She is seeking more than $50,000 in damages.
``She didn't report it to police because she was scared ...,'' her attorney, Kevin O'Reilly, told WLS-TV on Thursday. ``This is a powerful man; this is a wealthy man, and he's got the ability to really scrutinize you in the public eye. This will go nowhere and ruin your life, and that's what she was afraid of at first.''
~~~Soulias worked in 1999 as a personal assistant for Smith at the Center for International Rehabilitation, a group led by Smith that helps land mine victims, according to the lawsuit.
``He dragged me into his house, dragged me upstairs in his bedroom where he raped me,'' Soulias told WBBM-TV in Chicago.
Soulias alleges that afterward, Smith left her apologetic voicemail messages.
She and Smith later had a relationship that lasted several months, O'Reilly said, but he said it amounted to further victimization.
``It was situation where the predator came back for the prey,'' he told NBC's ``Today.'' ``It was an easy target; he was the boss, she was the employee.'' He called Soulias an ``innocent girl ... who had never had a boyfriend, never had a sexual relationship.''
Soulias ultimately decided to file the civil lawsuit because she wanted to stop an alleged pattern of harassment by Smith, O'Reilly said.
``This isn't about money, this is about getting Dr. Smith to stop,'' he said.
~~~

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-kennedy26.html

Audra Soulias, a former personal assistant to Kennedy clan scion Dr. William Kennedy Smith, filed a lawsuit Wednesday claiming he raped her at his Lake View townhome on her 23rd birthday five years ago.
The suit further claims that the Center for International Rehabilitation -- the anti-land mine group Smith founded in Chicago in 1996 after his highly publicized acquittal on rape charges in Florida -- launched an investigation into claims from other women at the center that Smith had sexually harassed them.
Two former employees of the center filed sexual harassment charges against Smith with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the suit states.
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gee is there a pattern here?

lisad71 said:

I love you, messicake. The tragic deaths part sucks, but you are right on the $ with your analysis.

We were in the Hamptons a while back and you should have seen Ted trying to squeeze his fat tushy into this little sports car. It was a riot!

Click to expand...

:blushing: aawwww thanks!!!


Id loooove to see Teddy out in public although Id be soooo tempted to yell out "Remember Mary Jo!!" or ask him for swimming lessons!!! :innocent:

I don't know if there was a rape or not, but having a relationship several months later with the man and waiting 5 years to report a rape before that relationship---that's gonna be tough, it seems to me, to get a finding of guilt in a civil suit.

It wasn't a *relationship* in a normal sense such as a dating or romantic relationship. The relationship amounted to him forcing her to have sex with him several times after the first incident of forced sex (rape)--in the office, I think. They didn't go to dinner, the movies or a play. They went no where. There was no dating involved. He was the boss, he forced himself on her, she complied but not willingly. She did consult a lawyer before now. The young woman was violated and humiliated. She knew, of course, no one would do anything. Why? There were other young women who worked with her who filed complaints and nothing happened to him. The Kennedy's are a powerful political force who make things happen that can help or hurt the City of Chicago. Chicago is run by a political machine. No one will touch a Kennedy in Chicago.

This perpetrator has admitted he *has a problem.* Apparently, like Uncle Ted, that makes it okay in his mind.

Our society condones this type behavior from men who feel entited--sports figures, the famous and infamous, the politically powerful, the bosses, etc.

Our society condones domestic abuse blaming the victim for not leaving, not doing something about it, etc.

It is getting more and more difficult to stop these horrible crimes.

News article excerpt:

[William Kennedy]Smith, who was cleared of rape charges in Florida in 1991, said Soulias demanded a $3 million payoff in exchange for not going to court. He said in a statement after the lawsuit was filed Wednesday that "family and personal history have made me unusually vulnerable to these kinds of charges."


In a statement following his accuser's new conference, Smith accused Soulias' lawyer of presenting "baseless claims in the most sensationalistic manner. While I did date Ms. Soulias for several months in 1999, the accusations being made are absolutely false and misleading."


Soulias attorney Kevin E. O'Reilly acknowledged that Soulias had continued to work for Smith until June 1999 and during that time had consensual sex with him on a number of occasions. He declined to comment on whether he had asked Smith for $3 million before filing the lawsuit, saying he had given his word not to discuss any talks between the two sides.

more...

If Soulias did have her lawyer ask Smith for a $3 million payoff in exchange for not going to court, then her saying she's filing suit against Smith to protect other women is bogus. Women who do that make it harder for real victims to be taken seriously. According to Smith's investigator, Soulias is thousands of dollars in debt for clothing she bought while dating Smith. She tried to sell her story about Smith to the Nat'l Enquirer and other sources before threatening to sue him, but they all turned her down. I think it's about $$$.

I think it's about the money too. I just don't buy this girls story at all.

http://www.nbc5.com/news/3688672/detail.html

~~Kennedy Smith is expected to speak about the lawsuit publicly for the first time as soon as Monday, with his newly hired lawyer, who may very well countersue Audra Soulias, NBC5's Mary Ann Ahern reported. However, those working with Soulias' attorney, Kevin O'Reilly, say other women are coming forward with complaints about Smith.
~~

The editor of The National Enquirer has dismissed claims that Soulias tried to sell her story to that publication.
Private investigator Ernie Rizzo, who has worked for Kennedy Smith, believes there could be a countersuit filed against Soulias and her attorney.
~~~~~~~~~~

BlueJeane, where do you get your information about continuing "forced sex" (rape)? Her attorney's statement contradicts what you wrote:

Soulias attorney Kevin E. O'Reilly acknowledged that Soulias had continued to work for Smith until June 1999 and during that time had consensual sex with him on a number of occasions.

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/3686349/detail.html

Excerpt:

Rizzo said he was hired just this week by Kennedy Smith to do investigative work on this case, but the private investigator claims to have first become aware of Soulias more than a year ago, when he says The National Enquirer called him about a story Soulias was allegedly peddling to the tabloid.

"I had a reporter from The Enquirer call me and said she's in there trying to sell a story about being raped by Dr. Smith," Rizzo said. "They didn't like the story."

Maybe the editor of the NE wasn't aware of this.

That aside, what about the $3 million payoff Soulias is said to have asked Smith for in exchange for her not taking him to court?

http://www.wrgb.com/news/regional/regional.asp?selection=article_19882

William Kennedy Smith has scheduled a news conference this afternoon to address a woman's accusation that he sexually assa - - 28-year-old Audra Soulias (AH'-drah SOH'-lee-ahs) — is suing Smith. Her attorney held a news conference yesterday to reiterate that his clients' goal is to stop Smith — not to collect money

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-smith30.html

The attorney for the woman who accuses Dr. William Kennedy Smith of sexually assaulting her five years ago released a letter Sunday from the National Enquirer that denies she ever tried to sell her story to the tabloid.
Private investigator Ernie Rizzo claims that Audra Soulias went to the Enquirer with her story a year ago.
Soulias' attorney, Kevin E. O'Reilly, released a two-paragraph letter from Barry Levine, the Enquirer's assistant executive editor. It said in part: "Please allow this letter to confirm to you that Audra Soulias, or any representatives on her behalf, never approached the National Enquirer with her story."
Levine also wrote that when an attorney for the paper contacted the private eye, "Mr. Rizzo could not produce a name of anyone at the Enquirer who he allegedly worked with nor could he produce any other documented proof."
Rizzo said Sunday he learned that Soulias had approached the Enquirer from a stringer for the publication. The stringer told him his source for the allegation, Rizzo said.
He did not identify the source. If he did, Rizzo said, "I would embarrass the hell out of [Soulias'] defense team."
Rizzo said Soulias' alleged approach to the Enquirer was discussed at an Oct. 6 meeting in Smith's office. The statute of limitations has run out for any civil or criminal actions based on Soulias' claim that Smith assaulted her on Jan. 16, 1999, her 23rd birthday.
Smith called Soulias, his former assistant, on Jan. 9 of this year and said he had received "disturbing news" about statements she had made to a woman investigating claims of sexual harassment against him and that he wanted to talk to her immediately.
Her lawsuit rests on whether that phone call, and subsequent calls from his attorneys, constituted "intentional infliction of emotional distress."
O'Reilly also released a copy of a letter he wrote to Smith attorney Barbara Brown saying he would file the lawsuit unless Smith paid his client, Soulias, $3.3 million.
Making such a demand was standard negotiation practice in such a case, O'Reilly said Sunday.
"Soulias asked me to withdraw [the demand]," he said. "That would be blood money ... [her lawsuit] has nothing to do with money."
~~

The $$ part is true.

Newswolf, thanks for posting the article.

Rizzo said Sunday he learned that Soulias had approached the Enquirer from a stringer for the publication. The stringer told him his source for the allegation, Rizzo said.
He did not identify the source. If he did, Rizzo said, "I would embarrass the hell out of [Soulias'] defense team."
Rizzo said Soulias' alleged approach to the Enquirer was discussed at an Oct. 6 meeting in Smith's office.

Also...

"Soulias asked me to withdraw [the demand]," he (Soulias's lawyer) said. "That would be blood money ... [her lawsuit] has nothing to do with money."

So, how do we know which side is telling the truth on these issues?

Hi Ivy, YW

I don't know!!! :liar:

I will be interested to hear what Smith says today. He's had a week to come up with something. That said, Rizzo doesn't have much credibility with me either because of his farcical appearances on Crier.

This chick doesn't stand a chance of getting a dime. She kept having sex with him or like over a year did she not? PUHLESE!!!!

I think the credibility of BOTH these individuals leaves a WHOLE LOT to be desired.