The Denver Post
Bryant accuser files lawsuit
Wednesday, August 11, 2004 -
The woman who said she was raped by Kobe Bryant sued the basketball star Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Denver, just days after one of her lawyers said she can't receive a fair hearing at Bryant's criminal trial this month.
The incident involving the then 19-year-old Eagle County woman occurred at an upscale resort June 30, 2003, in Edwards, where Bryant's accuser was a front-desk employee. Bryant says the sex was consensual. In the lawsuit, John Clune and Lin Wood, the lawyers for the accuser, claim that Bryant has a "history" of attempting to commit acts of violent sexual assault on women he has just met. It did not give any examples. The suit says that Bryant asked the woman to give him a tour of the hotel and that after she returned to his room, he blocked her from leaving and sexually assaulted her. They are seeking special and compensatory damages in excess of $75,000. Her lawyers said that they will amend the lawsuit later to seek punitive damages to punish Bryant for allegedly raping their client and to deter him "from repeating his criminal conduct." On Tuesday, Wood, who was in Denver to file the suit, said he was not able to comment because of a gag order in the criminal case. "The complaint will have to speak for itself until that gag order is vacated or reversed," Wood said. Krista Flannigan, spokeswoman for District Attorney Mark Hurlbert, said the civil filing doesn't affect the criminal case. "Nothing has changed for us. We are still moving forward," Flannigan said. Defense attorney Pam Mackey declined to comment, citing the gag order placed on those involved in the case. Legal observers said the timing of the filing was odd and will open the woman to vigorous cross-examination if the criminal case proceeds. Jury selection is scheduled to start Aug. 27. Analysts said defense attorneys will bring up the civil filing and claim the woman made up her rape allegation because of a glaringly obvious motive: to obtain money from a highly paid professional basketball player. Bryant last month signed a seven-year contract worth $136.4 million with the Los Angeles Lakers. "Obviously this is something the defense attorneys are going to raise," said Jim Christoph, a Boulder civil and criminal attorney and former president of the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association. They are going to say she's looking for money and she filed a civil suit before the criminal case even goes to trial. That's something they are going to raise to show that she has ulterior motives." Dan Recht, a Denver criminal defense attorney, said that to file the lawsuit at this point is "incredible," given that the defense cross-examination of her motive will be devastating. Recht believes that the move in civil court foreshadows the accuser asking prosecutors to drop the criminal case. District Court Judge Terry Ruckriegle recently ruled that the defense can introduce evidence at trial of the woman's sexual activity in a 72-hour period surrounding the alleged rape. Such evidence might show that injuries prosecutors have blamed on Bryant were caused by other sexual activity. The defense claims that semen from another man found in the underwear and on the body of Bryant's accuser convinced a defense expert and a law-enforcement analyst that the woman must have had sex shortly after her encounter with the basketball star. "These are sophisticated civil lawyers, and they wouldn't have done this without a strategy of getting the criminal case dismissed," Recht said. But Steve Siegel, past president of the Colorado Organization of Victim Assistance, said he believes the civil lawsuit "is a powerful statement" on the part of her lawyers. "Under the Victim's Rights Act of Colorado, she is granted the right to seek remedies in the civil courts and is encouraged to do so as much as she is encouraged to receive her rights in the criminal environment," Siegel said. Siegel said that because of the complications of the case, the woman is now receiving advice from her lawyers that she won't receive justice in the criminal court and that the civil arena is a good forum to pursue her complaint. The lawsuit claims that out of earshot of his agents and bodyguards, Bryant asked the woman to come to his room and escort him on a private tour of the hotel, the Lodge & Spa at Cordillera. During the tour, the lawsuit alleges, Bryant flirted with the teenager, who was flattered by his comments and interest in her. After a 15-minute tour, Bryant asked the hotel employee to escort him back to his room. Once in the room, Bryant asked her to join him in a hot tub, which she declined. At that point, the lawsuit alleges, she tried to leave the room but Bryant blocked her, asking for a hug; she hugged him and then he started kissing her. But after he started fondling her buttocks and genital area, she protested, the lawsuit said. At that point, the basketball star started choking her and raped her, according to the suit. The criminal case has been plagued by gaffes, including the posting of the accuser's name on a judicial website and the mistaken e-mailing to the media of usually confidential transcripts of a rape-shield hearing. Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-820-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com . Staff writer Steve Lipsher can be reached at 970-513-9495 or slipsher@denverpost.com . |