Mike Tyson, the former boxer and heavyweight champion, who previously spent three years in prison for rape, has been accused of rape a second time.
According to a lawsuit filed earlier this month, a woman is accusing him of raping her in the 1990s after they met in an Albany, New York nightclub.
In a $5 million lawsuit, the woman claims that the boxer raped her in his limousine, causing her to suffer physical and emotional trauma.
In the lawsuit, the woman said she got into Tyson’s limousine to pick up a friend from her house, but the boxer immediately started touching her and attempting to kiss her. She says she told him to stop but he continued to abuse her, then ripped off her clothes and raped her.
The lawsuit says it happened in the early 1990s. Also in the 1990s, Desiree Washington, Tyson’s first rape accuser, said he sexually assaulted her in Indianapolis, a crime for which Tyson was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison.
The recent rape lawsuit against Tyson was filed under the Adult Survivors Act, which allows sexual assault victims to file lawsuits against their attackers, even if the crimes happened decades ago.
Tyson’s latest accuser is not putting her name out there because she doesn’t want to be exposed to harassment, ridicule, further mental harm, and embarrassment.
The woman said as a result of the assault, she suffers from severe emotional, physical, and psychological trauma causing her to become depressed and to abuse drugs and alcohol.
She said the assault left her with lifelong problems, including issues with sex and intimacy and an inability to develop healthy relationships with men. She also said that she experiences nightmares, flashbacks, and panic attacks due to the rape.
Tyson, now 56, was crowned heavyweight champion for four consecutive years, from 1987 to 1990. Despite his success in the ring, his life in the outside world has been full of controversy.
Tyson’s ex-wife, Robin Givens, said during their divorce that their marriage, which only lasted from 1988 to 1989, was characterized by unprovoked violence by Tyson.
A photographer, Lori Grinker, also accused Tyson of groping her in the early 1980s. Tyson did not deny the allegation but said that he and Grinker had a consensual sexual relationship when he was only 17.