Georgia Tech’s Josh Pastner accused of sexual assault and sexual battery

Georgia Tech head basketball coach Josh Pastner has been accused of sexual assault and sexual battery in a counter-lawsuit presented to the courts of Pima County, AZ. The accusation comes from the girlfriend of Ron Bell, a former booster and Pastner’s former friend.

Tucson News Now correspondent Dan Marries obtained the contents of the lawsuit, which can be seen in the Tweet below:

The accusations stem from an alleged encounter between Pastner and his accuser at a hotel room in 2016, when Pastner was the head coach of the University of Memphis basketball team. The accuser is listed as a counter-plaintiff on the suit, indicating that it was filed in response to Pastner’s defamation suit filed against Bell back in early January.

Bell, who was formerly close to Pastner’s basketball programs at both Memphis and Georgia Tech and who once credited Pastner with saving his life on a pair of occasions, was responsible for reporting the NCAA violations of impermissible benefits received by Georgia Tech basketball players Josh Okogie and Tadric Jackson. The NCAA found that Okogie and Jackson received a total of $1,275 worth of benefits, resulting in suspensions of six games for Jackson and nine games for Okogie.

Pastner’s lawyer, Scott Tompsett, released a statement calling Bell a “career criminal” with a “long history of dishonest and antisocial behavior”. The statement also claims that Pastner is in possession of text messages and emails exchanged between he and the accuser which would refute her claims.

Pastner is in his second season as head basketball coach at Georgia Tech after spending seven seasons at Memphis.