Detective describes alleged rape by Kobe Bryant

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By Judith Crosson and Ellen Miller

EAGLE, Colo. (Reuters) - A Colorado woman told police that Kobe Bryant grabbed her around the neck, bent her face-first over a chair and raped her as she wept and tried to make him stop, a sheriff's detective testified during a preliminary hearing in the case on Thursday.

"She stated she felt pain, she was hurting," Eagle County Sheriff's Det. Doug Winters said of the 19-year-old woman in the first public account of the case against the basketball star, who has strongly denied the charges.

But an attorney for Bryant cross-examined Winters aggressively, suggesting that injuries to the alleged victim were the result of her having "sex with three men in three days" -- prompting the judge to halt the proceedings and summon lawyers into his chambers for a meeting.

Bryant is charged with raping the hotel concierge and college student on June 30 at a posh hotel near Vail. Thursday's hearing was to determine if he must stand trial sometime next year.

He has pleaded innocent but admitted having sex with the woman in what he said was a consensual encounter.

She will not be required to testify during the preliminary hearing, despite a request by Bryant's attorneys, but will have to take the witness stand if the case proceeds to trial. Many legal experts had expected defense lawyers to waive the hearing to spare Bryant a public airing of the woman's account.

Winters, who interviewed the alleged victim twice on the day after the alleged attack, said she gave Bryant a tour of the hotel after he asked her in a "secretive" manner. The two returned to Bryant's room and chatted, Winters said, and the conversation turned to her tattoo.

Winters initially testified that the woman lifted her dress to show Bryant a tattoo on her back, but later clarified that the tattoo was on her ankle.

'BOTH HANDS AROUND HER NECK'

Winters said Bryant and the woman then kissed for about five minutes, according to her account, before Bryant tried to reach under her skirt and rub her genitals and she tried to leave. She told police that each time she tried to leave the hotel room, Bryant blocked her.

"She stated that's when he grabbed her by the neck," Winters said. "He grabbed her with both hands around her neck, she was afraid he would choke her ... She's scared at this point."

Winters said that according to the woman, Bryant turned her around and forced her over to some chairs, still gripping her around the neck.

"She stated that once he bent her over the chairs he let go with one hand and pulled her panties down," Winters said. "She stated that after he pulled her panties down he proceeded to have sexual intercourse with her."

The woman told police that she cried during the duration of the sexual intercourse, which lasted for about five minutes. She said she also tried to pry Bryant's hands from her neck and told him "no" several times.

When it was over Bryant allowed her to turn around and asked her not to tell anyone about what had happened, Winters said, adding that said she agreed because "she feared he'd commit more physical violence" otherwise.

Bryant then told the woman to go into the bathroom and clean up, Winters said, and reminded her again not to tell anyone about what had happened.

On cross-examination, attorney Pamela Mackey questioned Winters on differences in the account given by the alleged victim to him and to a nurse who administered a "rape kit" on the day after the attack.

During a discussion of apparent injuries to the woman's vaginal area that prosecutors say were consistent with rape, Mackey asked Winters if he and the nurse had considered other possibilities.

Pictures of the injuries and a bruise on the woman's jaw were shown in court.

"Did you ask (the nurse) if this was consistent with sex with three different men in three days?" Mackey asked.

That question prompted the judge to stop the hearing and call prosecutors and defense attorneys into his chambers. He had earlier admonished Mackey for using the alleged victim's full name in open court.

The hearing was recessed during cross-examination of Winters and scheduled to resume on Oct. 15.

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