Ex-Charger Sued by Woman He Raped

A civil lawsuit has been filed against former San Diego Chargers wide receiver Bobby Ray Duckworth, who was sent to prison eight months ago after pleading guilty to a rape charge.

The victim of the attack, a 28-year-old Carlsbad woman, filed the lawsuit Monday in Vista Superior Court charging that Duckworth battered and raped her in his Carlsbad house in September.

The suit seeks unspecified damages. However, attorney David Thompson, who represents the woman, said his client will probably ask for about $250,000 if Duckworth’s remaining assets can cover that amount.

Duckworth, 33, who played for the Chargers and two other teams in the early 1980s, was sentenced in January to three years in prison.

In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors dropped rape and assault charges in a separate alleged attack on a 29-year-old Vista woman.

Duckworth had told a defense expert before his sentencing that he was drunk during the Sept. 2 assault and that his memory of the attack was hazy.

Duckworth was given the minimum prison sentence for the crime. Duckworth could be released from prison in about 10 months.