Transcript shows tale shifted as cops revealed evidence

By Charlie Brennan, Rocky Mountain News
September 17, 2004

Kobe Bryant first told investigators he did not have sex with his alleged victim, but reversed himself when the detectives revealed they had physical evidence, according to a transcript of his statement to police.

At that point, he admitted he had sex with the young woman, although he insisted it was consensual. He also had trouble remembering her name.

Advertisement

The transcript outlines Bryant's confusion and concern when he was confronted by the officers last summer at the Lodge & Spa at Cordillera near Eagle.

"This is my career," he said after they told him the 19-year-old woman had accused him of sexually assaulting her.

Moments later he added: "My biggest fear is my career. And my image."

He said he didn't want his wife, Vanessa, to learn of the incident.

"My wife and daughter, they mean everything, man."

The Vail Daily printed the statement Thursday, saying a transcript and a CD had arrived at its offices Wednesday in the mail. Lin Wood, one of two attorneys representing Bryant's alleged victim - who has filed a civil suit against Bryant in U.S. District Court in Denver - said the version published by the Vail newspaper appeared "authentic."

The July 2, 2003, interview with Bryant was conducted by Eagle County sheriff's detectives Doug Winters and Dan Loya. It started in a public area of the hotel, but eventually moved to Bryant's room, the site of the alleged assault.

The Los Angeles Lakers star initially denied a sexual encounter had taken place.

"OK, um. I'll be blunt and ask you," Winters said. "Did you have sexual intercourse with her?"

"No," Bryant said.

Later, after learning of the evidence, Bryant indicated a willingness to do whatever it took to make the problem disappear.

"Is there any way I can settle this, whatever it is, I mean . . ."

"Well, what do you mean by settle?" Winters asked.

"If my wife found out that anybody made any type of allegations against me, she would be infuriated," Bryant said.

Early in their interrogation, the detectives suggested to Bryant that they knew more than they did.

Loya told Bryant that the young Eagle woman had already submitted to a post-rape examination.

"We received blood, pubic hair," Loya said.

"OK," Bryant said.

"Semen," Loya added.

"We've got physical evidence," Winters said.

What would become clear later is that the detectives did not yet know if it was Bryant's semen. Nevertheless, that's when Bryant changed his story.

"Just be straight up," Loya said. "We're not gonna tell your wife or anything like that. Did you have sexual intercourse with her?"

"Uh, this is what I need to know, because, uh, I did have sexual intercourse with her," Bryant said.

"It was totally consensual."

After Bryant described how the young woman began kissing him, hugging him and bending over, Winters asked him if it was possible that, after starting the intimacy, the woman said, "I don't want to do this. I don't want this to happen."

"If she said that, I stopped," said Bryant. "Nope. No semen, nothing."

"Did you finish?" Winters asked him.

"No," the athlete answered.

Loya countered, "Well there's always pre-ejaculation. Are you aware of that?"

"Are you kidding me?" Bryant answered. "We stopped cold."

Tests performed on the purple underwear the young woman wore that night would subsequently show the presence of Bryant's DNA - along with that of another man.

In one key passage, Bryant confirms one detail of his alleged victim's account.

"Did you ever have her from the back of her head or her neck?" Loya asked. "What kind of intercourse was it?"

"Held her from the back? Yeah, yeah, yeah," Bryant said.

Loya asked Bryant how hard he was gripping the woman.

"I don't know," he said. "My hands are strong."

Bryant said he had never had a similar accusation leveled against him.

"No. Are you kidding me?" Bryant asked. "I treat everyone with the utmost respect."

As for the possibility that the young woman might have been saying no and that he simply didn't hear her, Bryant was adamant: "No, absolutely not, absolutely not."

When asked if he had ever had sex with another woman in a similar fashion, Bryant told the detectives that frequently had sex with a woman named Michelle without his wife's knowledge.

And, Bryant said, he had placed his hands around Michelle's neck when having sex with her. He made this admission after Loya told him the alleged victim had a bruise on her neck.

Testimony at Bryant's preliminary hearing placed that bruise on her left jawline.

"Yeah, I mean, that's you know, me and Michelle, that's what we do, we do the same thing," Bryant said.

The contents of Bryant's statement had been sealed by Eagle District Judge Terry Ruckriegle during the course of the criminal case against him, which was dismissed Sept. 1 after the alleged victim decided not to go forward.

In a motion filed Thursday, Bryant's attorneys said the release of the NBA star's statements violated the restraining order and asked the court to find and punish whoever leaked them to the media.

Bryant attorney Pamela Mackey also asked that the leaked materials be seized from news organizations. Christopher Beall, an attorney for the Vail Daily and various news organizations, filed a motion advising the court that such a seizure would violate the First Amendment.

Karen Steinhauser, a former Denver prosecutor who is now a professor at the University of Denver College of Law, wouldn't speculate on the motives of whoever leaked the statement.

"What's interesting about that tape is that he (Bryant) does corroborate a lot of what she said happened," Steinhauser said. "And it clearly reflects that he viewed it as consensual."

Portions of taped interview by detectives

• Eagle County sheriff's Detectives Doug Winters and Dan Loya interviewed Kobe Bryant early July 2, 2003, at the Lodge & Spa at Cordillera. The conversation was captured on a small recorder hidden in Loya's breast pocket. Here are some excerpts:

Winters: Um, she came back to your room and then uh, after the tour (of the hotel) was over, um, you guys went back to your room?

Bryant: Um, yeah, that's when she showed me the tattoo.

Winters: Where did her . . .?

Loya: OK. Where was her tattoo on her?

Bryant: Um, she had one on her ankle, and she said she had one on her back and said it had notes.

Winters: OK.

Loya: OK. Did you see the one on her back?

Bryant: Um, yes, she showed me.

Loya: How did she show you?

Bryant: She had like a strap or whatever and she like lowered it. I told her to turn around and she lowered it and she showed me.

Winters: OK, all right, um, did anything happen in the room?

Bryant: Like what?

Loya: Uh, did you guys hug or kiss?

Winters: Kiss or hug?

Bryant: No.

Loya: Listen, listen, listen. Let me explain something to you . . .

Bryant: OK, OK.

Loya: She consented to an exam.

Bryant: OK.

Loya: OK. We received blood, pubic hair . . .

Bryant: OK.

Loya: Semen.

Bryant: OK, OK.

Loya: All that.

Winters: We've got physical evidence.

Bryant: OK.

Loya: Listen to me first, OK. Let me, let me explain it to you first, OK. So is there any reason why any of your pubic hair . . .?

Bryant: Well, I'm gonna tell you, um, fellas . . .

Loya: Just be straight up, we're not gonna tell your wife or anything like that. Did you have sexual intercourse with her?

Bryant: Uh, this is what I need to know because, uh, I did have sexual intercourse with her. 'Cause I was (inaudible whisper).

Winters: And I understand.

Loya: OK, was it consensual?

Bryant: It was totally consensual.

Winters: Yeah, did she ask you to give, did you ask her to give you a hug?

Bryant: We stood there and you know I pretty much (inaudible) like I don't know, I might have hugged you all, like, when you came up to me, and I'd be like a hug, you know what I mean.

Loya: Was just a friendly gesture?

Bryant: Right. I mean it looked like this, like OK, all right . . . whatever . . . you know . . . she kissed me (inaudible).

Winters: And I, and I don't disagree that any of that happened, OK. I do not disagree with it that any of that happened, OK.

Bryant: (Inaudible)

Winters: OK, hear me out, OK. Um, it's possible that at some point that she may have told you no, I don't want to do this, yeah you know, maybe she did lead you on a little bit and she kissed you and then she said, and then she said now, I don't want to do this, I don't want this to happen. OK.

Bryant: (Inaudible) if she said that, I stopped, nope. No semen, no nothing.

Winters: Did you finish?

Bryant: No.

Loya: Well there's always pre-ejaculation. Are you aware of that?

Bryant: Are you kidding me?

Winters: Well . . .

Loya: I'm not kidding you, it's, they teach you that in seventh grade sex ed.

Bryant: We stopped cold. (Inaudible).

Winters: How long did it go for?

Bryant: (Inaudible) five minutes maybe.

Winters: OK, all right. Now . . .

Loya: During that time did she ever say anything to you? Did she scream no, stop, I don't wanna do it?

Winters: What was she saying?

Loya: The best thing is to be straight up, Kobe. That way we can resolve it.

Bryant: OK. I'm thinking, I'm thinking. (Pause) I'm trying to think of the conversation we had (inaudible).

Loya: OK. Did she, did you get any blood on you or anything like that?

Bryant: She didn't bleed, did she?

Loya: Yeah, she had, she had a lot of bleeding.

Bryant: You've got to be kidding, from where?

Loya: From her vaginal area.

Bryant: Did she cut herself or something, there's no blood on me whatsoever man, matter of fact, I still have the boxers (inaudible) boxers. They're all white, there's nothing on them. . . .

Winters: Is it OK if we take those, I means it's just gonna . . . ?

Bryant: All right, all right, can I ask you a question though?

Winters: I'll let you ask some questions.

Bryant: I do not want it to get to the media.

Winters: We don't either.

Winters: (referring to Bryant's knee surgery, performed the previous day) You gonna be ready for the season?

Bryant: I don't know man, I don't even know if I'll be able to play this season with this . . . going on. If it becomes public I'll lose my wife. . . .

Loya: How long have you been married?

Bryant: . . . and all my endorsements.

Loya: How long have you been married?

Bryant: Two years. My wife and daughter, they mean everything man, everything man, up an until now (inaudible).

Loya: Well, did you think about that before what you were doing though? It's a chance you take when you play.

Bryant: It was consensual, there was nothing weird, you know what I mean.

Winters: Did she say anything to do to provoke any of this to happen?

Bryant: She said she wanted to, you know, she hoped that I would . . . her.

Winters: When did she say that?

Bryant: I'm trying to think how it came about, how . . . I can't believe this girl. What does she want from me?

Winters: I don't think she wants anything.

Bryant: Are you kidding me?

Loya: What are you willing to give her?

Bryant: She has to want, she has to want something (inaudible), she has to want something.

Winters: What do you mean she has to want something? I don't understand.

Bryant: She has to have a, she has to have a motive, to do, she has to have a motive to do this.

Winters: What would be, what do you think her motive is then?

Loya: Are you willing to pay that if she is?

Bryant: I got to. I got to. I'm in the worst . . . situation.

brennanc@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2742

Copyright 2004, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved.