Accuser alleged she tried to leave Bryant's hotel room
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ESPN.com news services
EAGLE, Colo. -- As Kobe Bryant was just hours away from a court hearing in Eagle, Colo., more reports came to surface Wednesday regarding the sexual assault case involving the Los Angeles Lakers star.


According to several sources familiar with the case, ABC News reported Wednesday that the accuser alleged that she tried to leave Bryant's hotel room and he blocked the door.


Bryant is charged with felony sexual assault against the 19-year-old woman who worked at the exclusive resort hotel Lodge & Spa at Cordillera when Bryant stayed there June 30. Bryant, who is free on $25,000 bond, has said the sex was consensual.

ABC News was also told that examiners found evidence that the alleged victim had "vaginal tearing." Prosecutors could argue this is not consistent with consensual sex. Experts say the defense could rebut this in several ways, including that vaginal tearing could be sustained during consensual sex, or was not incurred during sex with Bryant.

Sources also say the sheriff's original arrest warrant included a misdemeanor claim of false imprisonment. The prosecutor did not ultimately include a false imprisonment claim in the charging do ent.

One reason may be that prosecutors do not like to give the jury the option of finding guilt on a lesser offense as a way of compromising. That does not mean they cannot include the allegation at trial.

Bryant is scheduled to attend a preliminary hearing today at the Eagle County Justice Center at approximately 6 p.m. ET. Bryant will be read the charges against him but will not be asked to make a plea. Eagle County Judge Frederick Gannett will advise Bryant of his rights, the charge and the possible penalty. If convicted, he faces four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation, and a fine of up to $750,000.

The session, which begins at 6 p.m. ET, is expected to be brief, but the stark pictures and video of the 24-year-old NBA superstar in court will leave an enduring image.


Bryant hoped to avoid his initial appearance, but Gannett ruled otherwise. Bryant's attorneys also lost their battle to keep cameras out of the courtroom.


Now, Bryant begins the formal part of what could be a long legal fight of a felony charge that has damaged his reputation and could put him in prison.


Greg Crittenden, an attorney in the district attorney's office, told the judge last week that the case required special treatment.


"We're dealing with a celebrity that's recognized worldwide and for that reason we have to look at this not as any other case,'' Crittenden said.


A trial appears inevitable, unless Bryant's attorneys can persuade the judge to throw the case out for lack of evidence at his preliminary hearing. Even if they are successful, the evidence made public at the hearing will probably further stain the once clean-cut image of one of America's most celebrated athletes.


"Once the accusation is brought to the police it's almost impossible to settle it,'' said Florida attorney Roy Black, who won an acquittal for William Kennedy Smith in a 1991 rape trial. "If he pleads guilty he loses endorsements and his popularity as a player.''


With a smile as dazzling as his play, Bryant was a superstar who made all the right moves and said all the right things.


Now, he is an admitted adulterer, at the very least, and he has already lost one endorsement.


Bryant's wife, Vanessa, sat by his side at an extraordinary news conference where he said the sex with his accuser was consensual.


The woman will never be the same, either. She is well known in Eagle, and her friends at first were more than eager to discuss the woman's virtues and what they thought were her faults.


Bryant is to begin preseason practice late next month with the Lakers in Hawaii. The judge has put no restrictions on his travel.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. scoop