WWE News: Sexual Assault Charges Dropped Against WWE Superstar Heath Slater
WWE Superstar Heath Slater found himself in hot water over a month ago. A sexual assault charge stemming from an altercation between Slater and a female security guard around WrestleMania 27 was in play. Slater denied the charges put against him, saying everything was false. We have known of wrestlers who abused women in the past, so it didn’t surprise many people that a wrestler had an assault charge against him. However, if he didn’t do anything, he had a right to fight the system.
The story goes that security guard Corinne Oliver claimed Slater had tried to force her into his hotel room at an after party, and that Slater grabbed her in a chokehold as she was escorting him away from fans, but that she was able to pull herself away. Oliver didn’t report the claim to police in Atlanta until June of 2011, a full two months after the incident occurred.
Oliver’s lawyer had claimed that she initially reported the altercation to her supervisor, who said they would resolve it. When that didn’t happen, she then decided to go after Slater criminally. It made sense, as we have seen things get pushed under the table in the past. A security organization may also hate the idea of having charges against a company or individuals they consider clients. So there are a lot of issues at play that could have kept it quiet.
What is interesting is that the charges have never resulted into anything really, as the charges were first put in back in 2011. Three years later, Slater was charged with something. Atlanta police had plenty of time to officially charge Slater or even WWE, but they chose not to. WWE acknowledged the report, and their legal department did claim that they would look into the issue when the charges came out.
Slater, of course, as mentioned above, denied that he did anything. He said that when the evidence came out, everything would be dropped. He was right, as all charges against Slater have been dropped, and he no longer has to deal with anything from Oliver or her former agency. WWE allowed Slater to settle his affairs by giving him time off. He wasn’t officially suspended like Kevin Nash, but due to the pending charges, Slater was not allowed to work with WWE.
Now that all charges are dropped, Slater can return to WWE at any time.
WWE has had a lot of legal trouble in the past, so they are willing to work with talent who have issues. They don’t automatically release someone because of a problem, unless it is a major issue such as a murder charge. WWE has a new policy of suspending talent involved in domestic and sexual assault issues, which is why Slater was under soft suspension. Meanwhile, Nash was officially suspended. Nash and Slater both had charges dropped, so both are allowed back in WWE at any point. When that will be is undetermined.
[IMG Credit: Reddit]
