Bryant: Sex claim denied
2004-03-03 13:00
Eagle, Colorado - Lawyers for NBA star Kobe Bryant's rape accuser on Monday denied startling claims that she had sex with another man just hours after her encounter with the athlete.
The denial came a day after Bryant's attorneys claimed in court papers the 19-year-old former hotel employee had sex with another man just 15 hours after she claims she was sexually assaulted by the Los Angeles Lakers' star.
"The claims that the victim in this case had any sexual contact with anyone within 15 hours after being assaulted by Mr Bryant are patently false," said a prepared statement issued by lawyer John Clune.
"Anyone trying to prove otherwise will be chasing ghosts," he said after Bryant's lawyers dropped the bombshell allegation in court papers filed in the Colorado mountain resort of Eagle during a pre-trial hearing on Monday.
That same defence brief filed by Bryant attorney Pamela Mackey also alleged that the young woman had sexual encounters with two prosecution witnesses in the high-profile case against the sporting star.
On Tuesday, Eagle County Judge Terry Ruckriegle heard evidence of the woman's sexual history from four witnesses behind closed doors.
He said the alleged victim must make her first court appearance at Bryant's next pre-trial hearing on March 24 and 25 when she will be grilled by Bryant's lawyers who have subpoenaed her.
The married Bryant, 25, admits having sex with the woman but claims it was consensual. Bryant could face up to life in prison if convicted on the single charge of sexual assault.
No date for a trial has yet been set, but a long series on pre-trial hearings is underway in Eagle to help shape the case against Bryant that will be put to the jury when the trial does begin, probably later this year.
Bryant's lawyers have been doggedly trying to discredit the alleged victim, asking the judge to allow the jury to hear evidence of her sexual history and her alleged emotional instability.
They are arguing that the alleged victim's sexual history should be put to the trial journey, a move that challenges Colorado's rape shield law which protects the identity of sexual assault victims.
His team succeeded on Monday in a bid to deflect a prosecution motion to limit the scope of the questioning of woman when she appears in court to be quizzed about her sexual history, after the judge ruled the prosecution had filed its motion too late.
Bryant's lawyers claim the accuser was promiscuous and had a history of staging dramatic ploys to attract the attention of past boyfriends, creating a need to question her extensively behind closed doors.
The Bryant team contends that sex with three partners in a 72-hour period could explain vaginal injuries to the woman which prosecutors attribute, instead, to forced penetration by Bryant.