Tyson Accused of Sexual Assault

July 29, 2001 -- Investigators in San Bernadino, Calif. are looking into a young woman's sexual assault allegations against former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson.

San Bernadino County Sheriff's detectives are interviewing a number of people who are said to have associated with Tyson and his entourage while the boxer was training at the Big Bear Boxing and Fitness Center earlier this month.

"It's a serious allegation," said Sgt. Frank Gonzales of the San Bernadino County Sheriff's department. "I cannot comment on her comments or statements that she made."

Authorities allege that Tyson sexually assaulted the woman on July 16 at his rental home in Big Bear City, Calif., a small mountain town 60 miles east of Los Angeles. The woman reported the incident the next day, police say.

Tyson has not been charged or even interviewed yet, but police hope he comes forward soon to answer some questions.

"It's not scheduled, but you know obviously in the future, the near future, we hope that we could gain a comment from Mr. Tyson," Gonzales said. "We will hope that Mr. Tyson, along with his attorney, would cooperate with the investigation."

Tyson's attorney Darrow Soll said police had not yet contacted the boxer, but that he would cooperate with investigators. Soll said neither he nor Tyson had been shown any evidence of wrongdoing.

"Tyson is willing to cooperate and we believe the investigation will reveal the allegations are patently false," Soll said. "We're not hiding. No one has said anything to us except the news media."

Resident: ‘Everything Seemed to Be Kosher’

Tyson was in Big Bear training for an upcoming fight. On Saturday, Tyson was seen in Phoenix, Ariz. Seen taking with a few kids.Big Bear resident Steve Burnham says Tyson was often seen on the streets.

"He seemed pretty nice," he said. "He was shaking everybody's hands at the restaurants and everything when he was visiting up here. Everything seemed to be Kosher."

In 1992, Tyson was convicted of raping a beauty pageant contestant in an Indianapolis hotel room a year earlier. He served three years in prison and was released in March 1995.