SAN DIEGO (CNS) - The former chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party said Friday that allegations in a newly filed lawsuit asserting he raped another man were disproven by an audio recording indicating a consensual encounter between the men on the night of the alleged attack.
The plaintiff in the lawsuit filed Thursday contends he was raped by former Democratic Party leader Will Rodriguez-Kennedy in August of last year.
When the allegations first surfaced in May, Rodriguez-Kennedy denied the claims and subsequently announced that he was taking a leave of absence as the party's chair.
The lawsuit's filing came about a week after Rodriguez-Kennedy issued a statement indicating the San Diego County District Attorney's Office had concluded a criminal investigation into the matter and decided it would not file charges. A D.A.'s Office spokeswoman confirmed that "after a thorough review, we determined that no charges could be filed in this case."
The lawsuit alleges that the men and others went out to several local bars on the night of Aug. 18, 2021, and by the end of the night, the alleged victim was drunk and "coerced" by Rodriguez-Kennedy into going home with him.
The suit states he does not remember the trip to Rodriguez-Kennedy's home, nor going inside, due to his level of intoxication.
His next recollection was of Rodriguez-Kennedy allegedly raping him in the early morning hours of Aug. 19, the suit states.
A police report attached with the lawsuit indicates the alleged victim spoke with San Diego police in March. The lawsuit states that he "tried to deal with the trauma on his own for several months until he sought advice from a college professor who advised (him) that he had been raped by Kennedy and that he should report the assault to the police."
During a Friday morning news conference, Rodriguez-Kennedy and his attorneys said they provided the D.A.'s Office with an audio recording of a consensual sexual encounter between him and his accuser, who Rodriguez-Kennedy described as an ex-boyfriend.
The police report and lawsuit state that the man remembers little until 3 a.m. when he awoke to be raped.
Rodriguez-Kennedy's attorneys contend the audio recording was made at about 1:30 a.m. and that metadata confirms it was recorded on that time and date.
In a statement, Rodriguez-Kennedy said the recording "proves that there was mutual consent," that the accuser was "an enthusiastic participant," and the "criminal accusation and civil complaint are based on a lie."
Regarding the recording's admissibility in court since the alleged victim did not know he was being recorded, one of Rodriguez-Kennedy's attorneys, Eugene Iredale, said an exception exists in California's eavesdropping laws if the recorder believes they are subject to potential extortion. Iredale said Rodriguez-Kennedy had suspicions leading up to Aug. 19 that he might be falsely accused.
Another of Rodriguez-Kennedy's attorneys, Marlea Dell'Anno, said they attempted to present the recording to the accuser's attorney, Dan Gilleon, prior to the lawsuit's filing, but received no reply.
Gilleon did not return a request for comment regarding Friday's news conference.
Dell'Anno said the recording was part of other evidence the defense team had that would show "Mr. Rodriguez-Kennedy's complete and total innocence in this matter" and that the lawsuit is "frivolous on its face." The attorneys declined to elaborate on what other evidence they had, other than witnesses they said would testify that the accuser was not intoxicated that night.
The lawsuit also names San Diego City Council member Stephen Whitburn as a defendant. Whitburn is not accused of any assault, but instead of failing to prevent the alleged rape. The lawsuit alleges Whitburn lived at the residence where the incident occurred, saw the alleged victim was intoxicated, and should have known that an assault was likely to happen if he did not intervene.
Attorneys representing Whitburn could not immediately be reached for comment.
