Exposing Bryants accuser

last updated 8 January 2015

Denver

The judge in basketball star Kobe Bryant’s rape trial has decided to release secret documents on the accuser’s sex life. Victims advocates said the move would violate the woman’s privacy and prejudice potential jurors, but Judge Terry Ruckriegle said he had no choice. A court reporter mistakenly e-mailed journalists the information last month, and the media demanded the right to report it. The topic is normally off-limits under Colorado’s rape-shield law, but Bryant’s attorneys say it’s pertinent in this case. The accuser, they say, had sex with both Bryant and another man within hours of each other, and the other man could have caused injuries she blames on Bryant. The trial begins Aug. 27.