Star 'grabbed' her
2003-10-10 13:18
Colorado - NBA icon Kobe Bryant's rape accuser admitted she flirted with him and willingly kissed him in his hotel room, but said he then grabbed her by the neck and sexually assaulted her, a detective said on Thursday, revealing details of the alleged attack for the first time.
The first graphic details of the alleged June 30 rape in a posh Colorado mountain resort hotel emerged at a crucial hearing to decide whether the US basketball icon should stand trial.
The 19-year-old concierge at the hotel where Bryant was staying told police she was "excited" that the Los Angeles Lakers star was to stay at the hotel and wanted to meet him, Detective Doug Winters told the court.
The young woman said there was "mutual flirting" between her and the 25-year-old Lakers guard and that she took him on a tour of the hotel which ended with her accepting an invitation to go back to his room with him.
'Began to grope'
The couple kissed Bryant told her to lift her shirt and show him a tattoo on her back, the woman told police.
Then Bryant began to "grope" her, touching her breasts and buttocks, the court heard. At some point she became scared and told Bryant to stop, but he continued to touch her, the detective told the hearing here that was closed to television cameras.
"Kobe Bryant grabbed me with both hands around my neck," Winters quoted the girl as saying, according to a CNN reporter in court. "I was afraid he was going to choke me," she allegedly said.
Despite her objections, Bryant then allegedly bent the woman over a chair, took her underwear off and had sexual intercourse with her for about five minutes throughout which she cried, the detective said.
Winters said the Lakers star then repeatedly told her not to tell anyone about the incident.
Lacerations
She agreed not to talk because she was afraid, Winters said of the woman's testimony. She then left the room and returned to the concierge's desk where she told a colleague what had happened.
The woman was treated for lacerations to her body, including one to the jaw, which medical professionals told Winters was consistent with trauma and not with consensual sex.
Bryant was later visited by police who ordered him to go to a hospital for tests.
The star was arrested on July 4 and freed on $25 000 bail. He has strongly denied sexually assaulting the woman but has admitted having consensual sex with her.
The hearing continued in the case that could see the millionaire star jailed for life if convicted.