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EAGLE, Colo. -- The 19-year-old resort worker accusing Kobe Bryant of rape told investigators the NBA superstar attacked her from behind, grabbing her by the neck and forcing himself on her despite repeated protests, according to testimony Thursday.
The woman described a consensual sexual encounter that spiraled suddenly out of her control, Eagle County Sheriff's Detective Doug Winters said at a hearing to determine whether Bryant stands trial.
According to Winters, the Los Angeles Lakers star was joined by the front desk worker on a tour of the posh mountain resort last June. After some flirting, Bryant asked her back to his suite.
The woman showed Bryant a tattoo on her back but turned down his request to join him in the hot tub, Winters said.
Her shift was ending and she "wanted to go home," he said. "She stated she was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable."
She stood up to leave and Bryant gave her a hug that led to some consensual kissing, Winters said.
When she turned around to leave, Bryant grabbed her by the neck, pulled up her skirt and raped her against a chair, Winters said. She told investigators she told Bryant "no" at least twice, before bursting into tears as the five-minute attack went on.
During and after the attack, he said, Bryant kept asking, "You are not going to tell anyone, right?" She said she agreed at one point.
"She said the reason she told him no was for fear of -- she didn't want him to commit more physical harm to her," Winters said.
He also said a nurse who examined the woman later at a hospital found injuries consistent with a sexual assault.
Bryant faces up to life in prison if he stands trial and is convicted of the single felony charge of sexual assault.
That testimony came after, in a surprising move, Bryant's lawyers went ahead with the hearing to determine whether the NBA superstar should stand trial for rape.
Legal experts had expected the defense to waive the hearing and head straight to trial rather than allow prosecutors to lay out their case publicly for the first time.
"The only reason the defense would choose to go ahead with a preliminary hearing when it doesn't have to is it believes, given the minimal amount of evidence the prosecution is going to be putting on, it may gain more by cross-examining those witnesses," said Stan Goldman, a professor at the Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, when the decision to hold the hearing was announced.
Goldman suggested the defense may call witnesses to testify -- a list that could include Bryant himself.
The judge had already rejected defense requests to have the woman testify in person and to see her medical records.
Earlier in the afternoon, Bryant arrived at the courthouse, ignoring a throng of reporters and spectators gathered outside. He had to take off a necklace and was checked with a metal-detecting security wand before walking through a metal detector and into the courtroom.
Thursday morning, people began lining up at the courthouse to get into the hearing. Security for the hearing was beefed up after dozens of threats have been made against the prosecutor, the judge and Bryant's accuser. Judge Frederick Gannett has acknowledged receiving letters containing death threats, and two men have been charged with threatening Bryant's accuser.
Court officers examined photo identifications before issuing passes to the handful of people. Among them was George Zinn of Salt Lake City, who arrived on a Greyhound bus to watch the spectacle.
"I don't consider Kobe a role model," he said.
Virginia Ricke, an Ames, Iowa, retiree sightseeing in Colorado, drove to Eagle from nearby Glenwood Springs to watch. She said she believes the justice system will work but her intuition tells her something went awry between Bryant and the woman in a room at a nearby resort last June.
"I kind of believe that what happened in that room was dumb, whether it was rape or not, because he had such a good, clean image before," she said.
Nearby, a group of University of Colorado students handed out packages of condoms and legal contracts that both parties would sign to agree to consensual sex.
The case against Bryant could lead to a celebrity trial the likes of which have not been seen since O.J. Simpson was acquitted of murder charges eight years ago.
Since Monday, about 300 television, print and radio reporters and camera crews have been arriving in Eagle, filling motel rooms and parking TV satellite trucks in a vacant lot across from the courthouse that normally is a lumber dealer's back yard.
At Bryant's initial court appearance on Aug. 6, he said just two words: "No, sir," when Gannett asked if he objected to giving up his right to have a preliminary hearing within 30 days. Unlike that appearance, cameras were banned from the courtroom this time.
Prosecutors planned to put a sheriff's detective on the witness stand to describe some details of what allegedly happened between Bryant and his accuser.
Bryant needed to appear for a bail hearing regardless of whether his lawyers waived the preliminary hearing. There also is a possibility he could enter a plea during an arraignment before another judge.
Two district judges were on notice they might be called to preside over an arraignment if the defense asks, state courts spokeswoman Karen Salaz said. By agreeing to an immediate arraignment, Bryant would not have to come back to Eagle again in the next 30 days to answer the charge.
Under Colorado law, Bryant must be arraigned within 30 days of the preliminary hearing or the decision to waive the hearing. After that, he is guaranteed the right to go to trial within six months, but he could waive that right as well.
The woman described a consensual sexual encounter that spiraled suddenly out of her control, Eagle County Sheriff's Detective Doug Winters said at a hearing to determine whether Bryant stands trial.
According to Winters, the Los Angeles Lakers star was joined by the front desk worker on a tour of the posh mountain resort last June. After some flirting, Bryant asked her back to his suite.
The woman showed Bryant a tattoo on her back but turned down his request to join him in the hot tub, Winters said.
Her shift was ending and she "wanted to go home," he said. "She stated she was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable."
She stood up to leave and Bryant gave her a hug that led to some consensual kissing, Winters said.
When she turned around to leave, Bryant grabbed her by the neck, pulled up her skirt and raped her against a chair, Winters said. She told investigators she told Bryant "no" at least twice, before bursting into tears as the five-minute attack went on.
During and after the attack, he said, Bryant kept asking, "You are not going to tell anyone, right?" She said she agreed at one point.
"She said the reason she told him no was for fear of -- she didn't want him to commit more physical harm to her," Winters said.
He also said a nurse who examined the woman later at a hospital found injuries consistent with a sexual assault.
Bryant faces up to life in prison if he stands trial and is convicted of the single felony charge of sexual assault.
That testimony came after, in a surprising move, Bryant's lawyers went ahead with the hearing to determine whether the NBA superstar should stand trial for rape.
Legal experts had expected the defense to waive the hearing and head straight to trial rather than allow prosecutors to lay out their case publicly for the first time.
"The only reason the defense would choose to go ahead with a preliminary hearing when it doesn't have to is it believes, given the minimal amount of evidence the prosecution is going to be putting on, it may gain more by cross-examining those witnesses," said Stan Goldman, a professor at the Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, when the decision to hold the hearing was announced.
Goldman suggested the defense may call witnesses to testify -- a list that could include Bryant himself.
The judge had already rejected defense requests to have the woman testify in person and to see her medical records.
Earlier in the afternoon, Bryant arrived at the courthouse, ignoring a throng of reporters and spectators gathered outside. He had to take off a necklace and was checked with a metal-detecting security wand before walking through a metal detector and into the courtroom.
Thursday morning, people began lining up at the courthouse to get into the hearing. Security for the hearing was beefed up after dozens of threats have been made against the prosecutor, the judge and Bryant's accuser. Judge Frederick Gannett has acknowledged receiving letters containing death threats, and two men have been charged with threatening Bryant's accuser.
Court officers examined photo identifications before issuing passes to the handful of people. Among them was George Zinn of Salt Lake City, who arrived on a Greyhound bus to watch the spectacle.
"I don't consider Kobe a role model," he said.
Virginia Ricke, an Ames, Iowa, retiree sightseeing in Colorado, drove to Eagle from nearby Glenwood Springs to watch. She said she believes the justice system will work but her intuition tells her something went awry between Bryant and the woman in a room at a nearby resort last June.
"I kind of believe that what happened in that room was dumb, whether it was rape or not, because he had such a good, clean image before," she said.
Nearby, a group of University of Colorado students handed out packages of condoms and legal contracts that both parties would sign to agree to consensual sex.
The case against Bryant could lead to a celebrity trial the likes of which have not been seen since O.J. Simpson was acquitted of murder charges eight years ago.
Since Monday, about 300 television, print and radio reporters and camera crews have been arriving in Eagle, filling motel rooms and parking TV satellite trucks in a vacant lot across from the courthouse that normally is a lumber dealer's back yard.
At Bryant's initial court appearance on Aug. 6, he said just two words: "No, sir," when Gannett asked if he objected to giving up his right to have a preliminary hearing within 30 days. Unlike that appearance, cameras were banned from the courtroom this time.
Prosecutors planned to put a sheriff's detective on the witness stand to describe some details of what allegedly happened between Bryant and his accuser.
Bryant needed to appear for a bail hearing regardless of whether his lawyers waived the preliminary hearing. There also is a possibility he could enter a plea during an arraignment before another judge.
Two district judges were on notice they might be called to preside over an arraignment if the defense asks, state courts spokeswoman Karen Salaz said. By agreeing to an immediate arraignment, Bryant would not have to come back to Eagle again in the next 30 days to answer the charge.
Under Colorado law, Bryant must be arraigned within 30 days of the preliminary hearing or the decision to waive the hearing. After that, he is guaranteed the right to go to trial within six months, but he could waive that right as well.
Getting interesting..