Case Against Bryant Built on Force Question
July 31 -- NBA superstar Kobe Bryant and his alleged rape victim had some intimate contact, sources told ABCNEWS, but prosecutors will argue that their intercourse was not consensual.
Bryant is charged with sexual assault for allegedly raping a 19-year-old woman. She worked at a lodge where he was staying when he was in Colorado for knee surgery in late June.
The Los Angeles Lakers guard, who is married and has an infant daughter, has admitted committing adultery with the woman but insisted the sex was consensual. He will be formally advised of the charges against him on Aug. 6.
Sources told ABCNEWS that Bryant, 24, and the alleged victim met when he checked into the Lodge & Spa at Cordillera in Edwards, Colo., on June 30. She gave him a tour of the facility's hotel and spa.
The sources say the tour ended at Bryant's room, where he allegedly invited her to come inside and she accepted. It had been reported earlier that the woman returned to the front desk after the tour, but went to Bryant's room after he had called the desk asking for her.
Sources said the alleged victim was in Bryant's room for less than half an hour. There was some consensual contact between Bryant and his accuser, but the woman says she did not consent to intercourse. She sustained some physical injuries, sources said, which Eagle County prosecutors are expected to argue are indicative of sexual assault.
A Strong Case Without a ‘Smoking Gun’?
Under Colorado law, a rape can still occur if the victim consents to some sexual activity, but later withdraws her consent or refuses to give consent to other sexual activity, including intercourse. Sources said Bryant's trial could boil down to a battle of medical experts from the defense and prosecution over whether the young woman's injuries indicate nonconsensual sex.
Sources said that besides Bryant and the alleged victim, there were no other eyewitnesses to the incident, and contrary to other previous reports, there are no "earwitnesses" either. Prosecutors do not have a "smoking gun."
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