The Denver Post
DA rebuts Bryant's defense team claims
Wednesday, March 17, 2004 -
District Attorney Mark Hurlbert slammed Kobe Bryant's defense team late Tuesday, saying he has no information that Bryant's accuser is planning to write a book, file a lawsuit against Bryant or that she sat down with author Jeff Shapiro to be interviewed for his book.
The prosecutor's court filing was in response to a sensational motion filed by the defense insinuating the woman may have a drug addiction, will seek money from the superstar through a civil lawsuit and hopes to gain fame by writing a book. Hurlbert also alleged in response to the defense motion seeking personal information about the 19-year-old accuser that the only compensation she or her family has been paid has come from the Crime Victim's Compensation Fund for psychological counseling. Other than the dollar amount paid, the counseling records are privileged, he said. The prosecution said it has no information the alleged victim has used drugs, has an addiction or has been treated at The Meadows, identified by the defense as an addiction treatment center in Wickenburg, Ariz. If the defense has any information concerning the alleged victim receiving care at any treatment facility, it was obtained in violation of state and federal law, said the prosecution. Hurlbert said prosecutors have no plans to turn over diaries, memoirs, notes or correspondence the accuser has written, saying it would violate the woman's privacy. The Los Angeles Lakers guard is accused of sexually assaulting the woman in June near Edwards. Bryant has said the sex was consensual. |