Posted on 09/15/2004 7:51:01 AM PDT by Colofornian
Edited on 09/15/2004 8:14:55 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
The still-sealed statement by Kobe Bryant to detectives investigating the rape case against him has been obtained by Sports Illustrated and includes an acknowledgment that he held his alleged victim "around her neck from behind."
But in a report appearing Tuesday on SI.com, reporter Jeff Benedict - author of the recent book, Out of Bounds: Inside the NBA's Culture of Rape, Violence & Crime - reveals few details of Bryant's statement.
Bryant's lawyers had unsuccessfully sought a ruling that his statement, captured on a hidden tape recorder when two Eagle County sheriff's detectives visited him early on the morning of July 2, 2003, should be tossed out as evidence in the case on constitutional grounds.
They failed in that bid, but had still been expected to challenge its admissibility on other grounds at trial.
The rape charge against the Los Angeles Lakers star was dismissed, however, on Sept. 1 by Eagle County District Attorney Mark Hurlbert, after the alleged victim in the case elected not to go forward with her complaint.
The 20-year-old Eagle woman has filed a civil lawsuit charging rape against Bryant in U.S. District Court in Denver, and that case has not been settled.
While Bryant's statement to Eagle County sheriff's investigators remains sealed, media lawyers have sought access to it in Eagle County, in both criminal and civil court.
As of Tuesday, they could read it - or, brief excerpts from it - on SI.com.
The SI.com report states that Bryant, when confronted by detectives in the parking lot of the Lodge & Spa at Cordillera, first denied the encounter, then admitted to "holding her around her neck from behind" and graphically described a series of sex acts he took part in with the young woman.
As Detectives Doug Winters and Dan Loya chatted with Bryant while walking to his room at the Lodge & Spa at Cordillera, Bryant allegedly told them he would pay the young woman to make the accusation go away, because "I'm in the worst ------- situation," according to the magazine.
Bryant also told detectives "about a girl in Virginia named Michelle" with whom he'd had a consensual sexual relationship, the magazine reported.
In the detectives' summary of their conversation, according to SI.com, Bryant told the investigators he should have paid the woman to silence her, also mentioned another NBA player who had done just that, and commented that he had never had to pay hush money himself, stating he "treats a woman with respect, therefore, they shouldn't say anything."
In the October preliminary hearing in Bryant's now-shelved criminal case, Winters testified that the alleged victim claimed to have been raped over a chair and suffered physical injuries.
Pamela Mackey, a member of Bryant's defense team, did not return a call Tuesday seeking comment on the SI.com report.
Former Denver prosecutor Karen Steinhauser, now a professor at the Denver University College of Law, said Bryant's statement "is something that, had it been revealed to the jury, would have been very helpful to the prosecution's case."
Oh, of course. As the song, "Money Changes Everything" goes (sung by The Brains and later by Cyndi Lauper): "Money. Money changes everything. We think we know what we're doing, but that won't change a thing. It's all in the past now. Money changes everything."
When will the Kobots wake up and smell the violence & injustice of all this?
NOt when he is getting away with it.
The accusation, real or not, cost him tens of millions of dollars in endorsements.
You don't see an incentive to consider paying hush money regardless of guilt or innocence?
Bryant got away with it because he is famous and has money.
Disgusting.
If the prosecution had enough evidence, there would still be a trial. There's always civil court.
I agree, and I see why the prosecutor advised the young woman to go to civil court and go for the money. At least he will continue to pay for this for a while longer.
Why go to civil court if they had enough evidence to convict him? I don't get it.
Now that's a nifty spin. The prosecutor spent the last few months burning the taxpayers' money but now thinks civil court would be better because he's looking out for the interests of the girl?
The woman was being destroyed in court and was having her life ruined by the case that she hadn't wanted to pursue in the first place. She wanted to settle and the prosecutor wouldn't let her. It was like raping her twice. If she is going to have her sex life laid out in public, she may as well get some compensation for the pain.
The accuser will not testify. The criminal case is over because she can't wait to get her hands on some of Kobe's money.
Then prosecution had something personal against Bryant then. I don't see how the police can MAKE someone go to court. I find this case real strange. All I know is that I would NEVER hang out with stars in their hotel rooms.
Heck we heard before the civil complaint was filed that the prosecutor had advised the young woman to do so. I realize that a lot of you were cheering for the the BB star, but I don't think that your views were exactly unbiased.
There's a law in Colorado, that once charges of this type are filed, they cannot be withdrawn. It's meant to prevent pressure being brought on the victim to drop the charges. We heard about this law early on in the case. In Colorado the victim can be forced to testify.
FWIW, even if he didn't rape her, I'll bet he never cheats on his wife again!
None of Bryant's fans
care about this. And Bryant
has endless money . . .
This is tin foil, but
I wouldn't be surprised if
this whole thing were staged
as a kind of weird
modern advertising trick
to use mainstream news
to "raise awareness"
of some "client." Bryant's fans
will still spend millions
on Nike's Kobe
branded sports crap. I wonder
if cases like this
(and like Winona's
run in with Saks) are simply
media gimmicks
done to the max, with
people agreeing to play
their different parts . . .
(Not the cops, I mean,
just Kobe and the girl, both
getting some kick back . . .)
Got away with what?
I was thinking the same thing! I think that his wife ought to give the girl the ring and just make the whole thing go away. It would be a nice gesture and she really should thank the girl.
Really? That's what you realized?
I haven't liked the NBA for years. When I did, I didn't like the Lakers. And I have never been a fan of Kobe Bryant in any way.
You're about as unbiased as CBS.
Sex, booze or drugs; the hard public life of star athletes in America.
When somebody wraps his arms around the neck of someone and left bruising in the process, that tends to be a sign of physical force...and so, some "sex" doubles as violence, otherwise known as the "R" word.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.