Kobe Bryant gets charges dropped
Well, it has happened again. A well known athlete who is married, yet couldn't keeps his pants zipped and has unconsentual sex (rape) with another woman, gets the charges against him dropped. The victim did not want to testify because she has been traumatized by everything that has happened. It just goes to show that if you have money and status in the sports world, you can do whatever you want to do and get by with it. Yeah, he regrets what happened....only because he got caught. And he is a role model for our children? I think not.
Prosecutors to drop Kobe Bryant case
By The Associated Press
EAGLE, Colo. - The Kobe Bryant case collapsed Wednesday as prosecutors said they had no choice but to drop the sexual assault charge against the NBA star because the alleged victim did not want to testify. Text of Bryant statement
Text of Kobe Bryant's statement read in court by his attorney, Pamela Mackey:
"I want to apologize to her for my behavior that night and for the consequences she has suffered in the past year. Although this year has been incredibly difficult for me personally, I can only imagine the pain she has had to endure. I also want to apologize to her parents and family members, and to my family and friends and supporters, and to the citizens of Eagle, Colo.
Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did. After months of reviewing discovery, listening to her attorney, and even her testimony in person, I now understand how she feels that she did not consent to this encounter.
I issue this statement today fully aware that while one part of this case ends today, another remains. I understand that the civil case against me will go forward. That part of this case will be decided by and between the parties directly involved in the incident and will no longer be a financial or emotional drain on the citizens of the state of Colorado."
Timeline of the sexual assault case against Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant:
June 30, 2003: Bryant arrives at Lodge & Spa at Cordillera near Edwards, Colo., a day before knee surgery in Vail.
July 1: A 19-year-old employee tells sheriff's deputies Bryant sexually assaulted her.
July 2: The woman and Bryant are taken separately to a hospital for examinations.
July 4: Sheriff Joe Hoy issues arrest warrant for Bryant; he surrenders and is released after posting $25,000 bond.
July 18: District Attorney Mark Hurlbert files single count of felony sexual assault. Bryant says he committed adultery but is innocent of assault.
Aug. 6: Bryant makes initial court appearance.
Oct. 20: Judge rules Bryant must stand trial.
March 1-2, 2004: Defense attorneys say accuser had sex with someone else less than 15 hours after her alleged assault. Her attorney denies the claim.
March 24: The accuser faces Bryant for first time since incident, testifies for three hours behind closed doors about her sexual history.
May 11: Bryant pleads not guilty.
June 10: District Judge Terry Ruckriegle rejects a defense bid to overturn the state's rape shield law.
July 14: Judge rules prosecutors can use certain evidence collected from Bryant; bars evidence collected from Bryant at hospital because investigators botched court orders.
July 23: Judge says information about the accuser's sexual activities in the three days before her hospital exam can be admitted as evidence.
Aug. 10: Accuser files civil lawsuit against Bryant in federal court. Prosecution files motion to delay case indefinitely.
Aug. 11: Prosecution files sealed appeal with Colorado Supreme Court asking for review of ruling allowing use of information about the accuser's sexual activities.
Aug. 13: Judge denies prosecutors' request to delay trial indefinitely, but grants their motion to limit evidence about the accuser's mental health, any drug or alcohol use.
Aug. 16: Colorado Supreme Court refuses to consider prosecution's appeal on ruling allowing use of information about the accuser's sexual conduct.
Aug. 24: Judge sharply limits media camera coverage of trial.
Aug. 27: Jury selection begins.
Sept. 1: Prosecution drops criminal case, saying alleged accuser is "unable to go forward."
By The Associated Press
With the parents of the 20-year-old accuser looking on, District Judge Terry Ruckriegle threw out the case under a deal that means no charges will be refiled.
"The people have filed a motion to dismiss this case based on the fact the sole victim at this time is unable to go forward," District Attorney Mark Hurlbert told the judge. He said the alleged victim did not want to participate in the trial, including taking the stand.
The woman's attorney, John Clune, said his client has been through an extremely difficult time over the past 14 months and was disturbed by a series of courthouse mistakes that included the release of her name and medical history.
"It is in her sincere belief that when this case ends she does not want to be brought back into the criminal process," Clune told the judge. "The difficulties that this case has imposed on this woman the past year are unimaginable."
Ruckriegle admitted mistakes had been made and took full responsibility.
The prosecution dropped the case as jury selection was beginning to wrap up. Opening statements had been expected next Tuesday.
Bryant, 26, has said he had consensual sex with a then-19-year-old employee of a Vail-area resort where he stayed last summer. Had he been convicted, the Los Angeles Lakers star would have faced four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation, and a fine up to $750,000.
Bryant still faces a federal civil lawsuit filed by the accuser that seeks unspecified damages.
Defense attorneys this week asked the judge to dismiss the assault charge, saying prosecutors had refused to turn over details that could suggest Bryant is innocent. Court rules require prosecutors and defense attorneys to exchange evidence and witness opinions before trial, a process called discovery.
In a motion made public Wednesday, defense attorneys said a forensics expert whom prosecutors had planned to call as a witness had information that "undermined the accuser's allegations and the prosecution's case, and corroborated Mr. Bryant's defense on a central issue - the cause and significance of the accuser's alleged injuries."
The filing said those opinions were not disclosed to the defense until they contacted the expert Friday, despite repeated requests to prosecutors for the information. Prosecutors have said they have turned over all information they were required to.
"A person's life and liberty are at stake," the defense attorneys wrote. "The game of hide-the-ball, find-it-if-you-can discovery is intolerable. This court must vindicate Mr. Bryant's constitutional rights and impose meaningful sanctions against the prosecution."
The motion does not identify the expert, but prosecutors this spring had said they planned to call former New York City medical examiner Michael Baden to testify about the woman's injuries.
Hurlbert had said during a July 19 hearing he had decided against using Baden. He did not elaborate.
The defense motion was first reported by ABC News, which cited unidentified sources who said Baden told prosecutors the woman's injuries could have been caused by consensual sex. Baden did not return messages Wednesday.
The defense has argued that injuries found on the woman could have been caused by sex with someone else in the time surrounding her encounter with Bryant, including someone afterward and before she went to a hospital. The woman's
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