Bryant's alleged victim still urges trial despite sexual-activity ruling

By Peggy Lowe, Rocky Mountain News
July 27, 2004

The woman who accused NBA star Kobe Bryant of rape remains determined to go forward with a trial despite a ruling that could reveal her sexual activities to a jury, prosecutors said Monday.

The Eagle County District Attorney's office said it is going ahead with the case despite the trial judge's decision Friday about the young woman's reported sexual partners around the time she encountered Bryant last year.

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"We don't look at the judge's ruling as a defeat," said Krista Flannigan, a spokeswoman for the DA's office. "At this time we have no plans to change anything other than to move forward with the prosecution of this case."

The alleged victim, a 20-year-old woman from Eagle, has spoken with prosecutors and still wants to go ahead with the trial, Flannigan said.

"The victim - even after the judge's ruling - still continues to be determined to move forward," Flannigan said.

Chief District Judge Terry Ruckriegle on Friday said the alleged victim's sexual activities within a 72-hour window around her encounter with Bryant will be admissable at the trial. Defense attorneys called it a devastating blow to the DA's case, calling into question not just her injuries but her character.

Reports and court documents suggest the woman had intercourse with a friend June 28, 2003, Bryant on June 30 and then with a third man within 15 hours of Bryant.

Her attorney categorically denied the woman had sex with a third man after her encounter with Bryant.

Flannigan said prosecutors haven't decided whether they will appeal Ruckriegle's decision, and may not decide until next week. Meanwhile, the next hearing is set for Friday on pre-trial issues.

In his ruling last week, Ruckriegle also opened the door to a possible plea bargain, extending the deadline until Wednesday.

Flannigan wouldn't comment on any plea talks.

Lin Wood and John Clune, the alleged victim's lawyers, and Bryant's legal team would not return phone calls seeking comment.

But defense attorneys and former prosecutors said a plea is highly unlikely. Bryant, dependent on celebrity commercial endorsements, isn't going to plead to a lesser sex crime, said Scott Robinson, a Denver defense lawyer.

"What can he plead to that isn't a sex crime that properly reflects the victim's story? Kobe won't do it," he said.

Robinson said he also doubts that Mark Hurlbert, the Eagle County District Attorney, would back out of the case while he's running for his first election.

David Lugert, a 22-year prosecutor now practicing as a private attorney in Eagle, said he's not surprised that the DA would continue on with the case.

The young woman told witnesses of the alleged attack, her blood is on Bryant's T-shirt and there were bruise marks on her neck, he said.

"I think the case is based primarily on the victim and her credibility and secondly on her outcry statements," he said. "I think it also depends on the value of the physical evidence."

Although Clune, the attorney for the alleged victim, recently said the gaffes by the DA's office in releasing her name has made her sometimes reconsider her decision to press charges, her mother wrote a letter to the judge asking for a speedy trial.

"My daughter has plans for her future," the mother wrote. "However, her life is on hold and her safety is in jeopardy until this case is over. I am asking that the court do whatever possible to bring this case to trial as soon as possible."

What's next

• Aug. 27: Jury selection is scheduled to begin in Eagle County.

• Sept. 7: Colorado Judicial Branch spokeswoman Karen Salaz said it's hoped that opening statements in Bryant's trial will take place on this date.

lowep@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5482

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