The Kobe Bryant sexual assault case began in July when the news media reported that the sheriff's office in Eagle, Colorado , had arrested professional basketball player Kobe Bryant in connection with an investigation of a sexual assault complaint filed by a year-old hotel employee.
The woman accused Bryant of raping her in his hotel room on July 1, the night before the surgery. Bryant admitted to an adulterous sexual encounter with his accuser, but denied the assault allegation. The case was dropped after Bryant's accuser refused to testify in the case. A separate civil suit was later filed against Bryant by the woman. This was settled out of court and included Bryant's publicly apologizing to his accuser, though admitting no guilt on his part.
Eagle County Sheriff investigators first confronted Bryant with the sexual assault accusation on July 2. When the officers told Bryant that she had taken an exam that yielded physical evidence, such as semen, Bryant admitted to having sexual intercourse with her, but stated that the sex was consensual. When asked how hard he was holding onto her neck, Bryant stated, "My hands are strong. I don't know. Bryant later said that he believed his accuser was capable of saying no because during the encounter he asked her if he could "cum on her face", and she said no.
Law enforcement officials collected evidence from Bryant and he agreed to submit to a rape test kit and a voluntary lie detector test. Bryant flew from Los Angeles back to Eagle, Colorado, to surrender to police. If convicted, Bryant faced probation to life in prison. On July 18, after he was formally charged, Bryant held a news conference in which he adamantly denied having raped the woman.
With his wife, Vanessa , at his side, he confessed, in tears, to having an adulterous sexual encounter with her, but insisted that everything that happened between the two had been consensual. As the hearings began, the prosecution accused Bryant's defense team of attacking his accuser's credibility. Bryant's defense stated that the exam results showed "compelling evidence of innocence" because the accuser must have had another sexual encounter immediately after the incident.
