The Denver Post
Accuser shield remains at issue
Friday, October 08, 2004 -
An advocacy organization on Thursday cautioned the media not to use the name of Kobe Bryant's accuser even though a federal judge has ruled she cannot bring her civil case against the basketball star anonymously.
"This young woman's safety and well-being are at stake," said Cynthia Stone, spokeswoman for the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault. "To use her name and/or picture in mainstream media outlets - where the vast majority of people get their news - could pose a real danger for her." On Wednesday, federal Judge Richard Matsch ruled that the woman, now 20, cannot be shielded as a "Jane Doe" in the civil proceedings, saying the request was outweighed by the public interest in an open court system. The woman accused Bryant of sexually assaulting her in an Eagle County hotel in June 2003 but decided during jury selection that she would not participate in the criminal trial, forcing prosecutors to drop the case. She has continued with her civil case against Bryant, in which she is seeking more than $75,000 in damages. Her attorneys, who could not be reached for comment Thursday, had argued that she needed to proceed anonymously out of fear for her safety. Bryant's attorneys and the Rocky Mountain News argued that the woman should not be able to hide behind the cloak of anonymity in the civil case. Stone, who stated the woman didn't have "a shred of privacy left," asked the media not to use her name, which has been commonly known since the week the criminal case came to light. Lisa Simpson, the student who brought a 2003 civil case against the University of Colorado on allegations that she had been raped at a party attended by football players or recruits, initially filed her suit under the alias "Jane Doe" but later opted to reveal her identity. Geneva Overholser, a former Des Moines Register editor who discontinued her Web log for the Poynter Institute after editors declined to let her identify Bryant's accuser, said she thought the ruling would prompt many news organizations to name the woman. "Effectively, her name is public, and the mainstream media are not the gatekeepers they once were," Overholser said. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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