Loser in Brown Rape Case Sues for $10 Million

A lawsuit accusing former professional football star Jim Brown of rape and assault was filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, one day after a judge dismissed criminal charges against the athlete based on the same incident.

Brown, now an actor, had been charged with raping a 33-year-old woman in his Hollywood Hills home on Feb. 19. But Deputy Dist. Atty. Dino Fulgoni on Thursday described the evidence against Brown as “contradictory” and requested that the rape and assault charges be dismissed.

“I was beaten up; I was raped,” Margot Tiff told a press conference in the County Courthouse. “I want some justice done. I didn’t get any justice.”

$10 Million Sought

The civil suit--seeking $5 million in general damages and $5 million in punitive damages--accuses Brown and his housemate, Carol Moses, 22, of having “battered, tortured, physically and psychologically abused and raped and attempted to rape (the) plaintiff.”

Moses testified to a county grand jury that the incident began when Tiff attempted to molest her and the woman was roughed up in an ensuing tussle.

Asked how he could expect to win a civil case after the criminal proceedings were dismissed, Tiff’s attorney, Robert R. Star, said criminal convictions require proof “beyond a reasonable doubt,” but civil decisions are based on “the preponderance of evidence.”

Brown had no comment Friday. But his attorney, Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., said: “The only person who has any cause for action is Jim Brown--against her. It’s one of those rare cases where almost everyone was unanimous that this lady had no credibility.”