ATLANTA — Jailhouse transcripts filed in an Arizona court Friday suggest the couple accusing Georgia Tech men’s basketball coach Josh Pastner of sexual assault made up the claims.
The phone and video conversations are a part of a sanctions motion filed by Pastner’s legal team in Pima County Superior Court, where the coach’s defamation lawsuit against the couple was filed earlier this year.
[READ: Georgia Tech's Pastner files suit, claims fraud, extortion]
The Arizona couple, Ron Bell and Jennifer Pendley, spoke to Channel 2 late last year when Bell claimed he’d helped facilitate illegal player benefits to retain Tech talent. Bell claims he is an estranged, longtime friend of Pastner, and said Pastner did not deliver on a promise to land him a formal position with Georgia Tech’s athletic program.
[RELATED: Man says GT coach knew he bought flights, meals, clothes for players]
Bell and Pendley, who live in Arizona, countersued the coach. Friday’s filing notes their failure to provide evidence of the sexual assault, including a T-shirt the couple claimed to have with Pastner’s bodily fluid on it. The couple’s legal team recently dropped them as clients, telling the court Bell and Pendley could not provide them access to the evidence.
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In March, Bell was arrested in Arizona on warrants out of Cobb County. They were tied to a late 1990s theft conviction. He was extradited to Georgia after a short stint in the Pima County jail, where most of the profanity-laced conversations with Pendley were recorded.
In the transcripts, Bell blames Pendley’s lawsuit for his arrest, suggesting Pastner’s legal team is behind his troubles. He tells Pendley he’s going to cut a deal with Pastner’s lawyers to get out of jail, and plans to “come clean” to the press. Bell accuses Pendley of lying about filing the suit at his urging, which is revealed in previous recordings, according to their spat.
"You just (expletive) off like a million dollars because of your big (expletive) rat trap that some people call a mouth," Bell lashes out at Pendley in a March phone recording.
"I think you're a (expletive) liar," he tells her. " You want to say more on the line, then I'll say more, too. We can do this. Remember, Jennifer, I was not the one who was crying on the steps of that courthouse. That was you. Not me. That was you."
"I know," Pendley.
"Okay, be careful because that's going to come back and bite you in (expletive) You're going to be on national-you think this is going to be local?" Bell laughs. "Are you that-are you (expletive) retarded? This is going to be the first story on ESPN. This is going to be in New York, on the news, on every (expletive) channel. Los Angeles, San Diego. Everyone who knows you is going to see it. You were the one who-"
"Well, I'm sorry that you have to be that vindictive to me because I have done nothing but love you, the best I know how," Pendley replies.
Pendley begs Bell not call a press conference where he vows to back out of the sex assault claim.
"I'm coming clean, Jennifer. You dug this hole for yourself. I told you 'Don't (expletive) with me while I'm in jail."
Bell goes on to lash out at Pendley for her plans to attend sexual assault counseling during jail visitation hours.
"I think... Listen to what I'm about to say and read between the lines," Bell says. "I think you can live without sexual assault counseling for a couple weeks. Do you?"
"Yes, absolutely honey," Pendley replies, "I agree. And it's going to be fine."
"…But you know why, right? And I know why, right?" Bell asks.
"Yes. Yes," said Pendley.
"You know exactly what I'm saying in my head, right? I don't have to say it, do I?" Bell asks.
"No, no. I agree," said Pendley.
Bell was released from Cobb County after a few days behind bars, and his probation terms were extended by four years, according to court records.
Pastner’s attorneys argue the recordings serve as a dismissal for the couple’s counterclaim.
“If the court does not dismiss at this time it should, at a minimum, order Bell and Pendley to pay Pastner’s reasonable expenses, including attorney’s fees, incurred as a result of their failure and refusal to comply with their discovery obligations,” the motion reads.
Neither Bell nor Pendley responded to calls regarding the court filings, but they are due back in court for a status hearing on Tuesday morning.
Cox Media Group
