Kobe Bryant, Accuser Attend Rape Hearing

[Walter Cronkite]

Kobe Bryant arrives at the Eagle County Courthouse.

The 19-year-old woman accusing NBA star Kobe Bryant of rape walked calmly into a Colorado courtroom Wednesday, the first time the two have faced each other since their encounter last summer.

Accompanied by only her attorney, the woman slipped into the courthouse through a fire exit and walked across a hallway into the courtroom where she will testify. She stared straight ahead, her expression almost stern.

Bryant arrived earlier Wednesday for the closed-door hearing. The woman was expected to testify in detail about her sexual history to determine whether those details can be introduced at trial.

The defense says the woman's sexual conduct around the time of the alleged assault should be admitted because it could show that her injuries were caused by another sexual partner and that she had a "scheme'' to have sex with Bryant, possibly to gain the attention of an ex-boyfriend.

The prosecution fought to limit defense questioning, but was rebuffed by the Colorado Supreme Court earlier this month.

The Los Angeles Lakers guard has said he had consensual sex with the woman. If convicted, he could get four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation. No trial date has been set.

Colorado's rape-shield law, like others around the country, generally bars defense attorneys from bringing up information about an alleged victim's sex life. Judges, however, can hear such testimony in private to determine whether the information is relevant and admissible as evidence.

Experts said it is not unusual in Colorado for an alleged victim to testify in such pretrial hearings, but none has attracted such widespread publicity.

Another closed-door hearing resumes Thursday on a request by Bryant's lawyers to throw out evidence including the NBA star's recorded statements to investigators and a T-shirt stained with the accuser's blood.

Source: AP

[AndySMC]

False Accusations

My friend is a RN who has worked in a huge Level I ER that serves as the Sexual Assault Exam Center for a 200 mile radius, I can promise you that false accusation is very, very common. Ask any police officer or any ER Psychiatric MD. The most common reason is a wife who is involved in a custody battle. This accusser has a diagnosis of Bi-Polar disorder and I would put money on she also has a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Boderline PD and BiPolars are the most commonly seen in the ER for two reasons, 1) attempted suicide as an act of attention getting (i.e the call someone or ensure they are found) At least every forty eight hours my friend would see a patient who has claimed to OD and then involves the X who ends up coming to the ER where the drama continues. or 2) Accusations of physical or sexual assualt in a situation where they are attempting to manipulate a reaction from a lover who may have rejected them.

These people come in claim to have been assaulted or taken an OD. They beg you to call the X, then they get someone to phone the X. the X comes to the ER ect. Look up both Dx in the DSM despite uneducated advocates claims both list manipulative, dramatic behaviour and FABRICATING as symptoms. Bi-polar will list excessive, indiscriminate and promiscous sexual behavior. This accuser is classic, she was likely attempting to get the boyfriend who had rejected her drawn in to a drama to rescue her. At best her Bi-Polar (a thought disorder/psychosis) caused her to distort reality.

The prosecuter in this situation got sucked in and knows it. He however, must press on to salvage the departments and his reputation. In our large city where false accusation is common the police have the insight and experience to spot it.