MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. -- Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit District Attorney Fredric D. Bright has scheduled a Monday afternoon news conference to announce whether he will pursue sexual assault charges against Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

The district attorney's options, according to a spokesman with the Georgia attorney general's office in Atlanta, range from dropping the case to taking it before a grand jury in pursuit of felony charges of sexual assault or reducing the charge to a misdemeanor of sexual battery.

The Milledgeville Police Department and agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation conducted a monthlong probe into a 20-year-old woman's accusation that Mr. Roethlisberger assaulted her in a nightclub in the early hours of March 5. The investigators' findings were turned over to Mr. Bright late Tuesday.

"The investigation, interviews and report in the Roethlisberger matter have been completed and reviewed," Mr. Bright said in a statement Friday. "We will be announcing the decision in this case in a news conference to be held on Monday."

Mr. Bright declined further comment.

Asked Friday night outside the Baldwin County Courthouse about ESPN reports that Mr. Roethlisberger will not be charged, Mr. Bright said, "I don't know where they're getting that information. I haven't announced anything yet. I'll make my announcement at 2 p.m. Monday."

Approached by a reporter outside a Wexford restaurant Friday night, Mr. Roethlisberger politely refused to answer questions about the case or the ESPN report.

Mr. Roethlisberger has denied the accusation through his Atlanta-based attorney, Edward Garland, who Friday reiterated his client's innocence.

"From the very beginning, Ben has maintained that he is not guilty of any criminal conduct, and we believe the district attorney should reach the same determination," Mr. Garland said.

"Ultimately, it's his [Mr. Bright's] decision to prosecute or not," said Page Pate, an Atlanta defense attorney who specializes in sexual offense cases. "If he believes there is insufficient evidence to prove that a crime was committed, he'll have to [drop the matter].

"But, under Georgia law, if he believes that a sexual assault occurred, that's a felony punishable by a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison, and he has to go before a grand jury [for an indictment]."

Mr. Pate said it is possible that Mr. Bright could remain neutral and decide to take the evidence collected in the case to the grand jury for its recommendation. That option is unlikely, he said.

"It's very rare for a district attorney to ask the grand jury for direction," Mr. Pate said. "Usually, in Georgia, when a district attorney goes before a grand jury, he recommends how charges should be filed in the case."

An example of an exception, Mr. Pate said, would be in the case where a police officer is accused of using excessive force in an arrest and a district attorney wants to remain impartial.

Another option, according to Mr. Pate, is a misdemeanor charge of sexual battery, which involves "the nonconsensual touching of another person's body in a sexual manner."

"In that case," Mr. Pate said, "there is no need to go to a grand jury. The district attorney can draft an accusation and issue an arrest warrant. Then the suspect will be formally charged and asked to voluntarily surrender, after which he could post bond."

At no time during the investigation, however, have authorities made reference to the case involving anything but an alleged sexual assault.

Mr. Roethlisberger also is accused of sexual assault by a Nevada woman who filed a civil lawsuit in August saying she was accosted by the quarterback while he was in Lake Tahoe for a charity golf outing in 2008. No criminal charges were filed.

That case remains in limbo while the Nevada Supreme Court considers defense attorneys' appeal for a change of venue from Reno, where the lawsuit was filed, to Lake Tahoe.

Calvin R.X. Dunlap, the Reno-based attorney for the woman in that case, Friday said he had no comment on the Georgia case.

Mr. Garland, contacted in Atlanta on Friday, said he was not aware of the district attorney's intentions regarding Mr. Roethlisberger and would be watching the news conference Monday "with everybody else."

"I would like to point out that Mr. Roethlisberger has not, at this time, been charged with any criminal conduct by any law enforcement agency in his life," Mr. Garland said. "And we believe that the district attorney will come to the correct decision and no criminal charges will be filed in this case."

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