DENVER -- A month after a hotel worker accused NBA star Kobe Bryant of
rape, she allegedly told a friend she was considering suing him in civil
court and planned to use any money she won for breast implants, a koala
bear and opening a recording studio.
The details came in testimony from Sean Holloway, who knew the
then-19-year-old woman from the University of Northern Colorado in
Greeley, according to court documents released Friday.
During a closed hearing March 2, defense attorney Hal Haddon asked
Holloway about a conversation with the woman near the end of July 2003,
about a month after the alleged assault. The hearing was to determine
whether information about the woman's sexual activities could be used in
court against her.
Haddon asked whether the woman had mentioned the possibility of a civil
lawsuit.
"She said that after the case was over it was something that she was
most likely going to do," Holloway said.
He testified the woman, an aspiring singer, wanted to use any award
money to open a recording studio and to pay for breast augmentation
surgery for herself and a friend. He also said she would buy a koala
bear for another friend who liked the animals.
Under questioning by prosecutor Dana Easter, Holloway acknowledged he
had trouble remembering details of the conversation. He refused to
answer whether drug use might have affected his memory.
One of the woman's lawyers, L. Lin Wood, dismissed Holloway's testimony.
"Anyone that knows this young girl, and knows what she has done and why
she has done it over the last year and half, and what's she's been
through, will know that Mr. Holloway's story does not reflect the
truth," he said.
It is unclear whether District Judge Terry Ruckriegle had ruled on the
prosecution's request to limit Holloway's testimony before prosecutors
dropped the case against Bryant on Sept. 1 after the woman said she no
longer wanted to participate.
Another important factor was an agreement earlier in August between
attorneys for Bryant and her accuser that if Bryant signed a formal
apology, she would not testify against him. It took until the end of the
month for both sides to agree on the language.
The woman, now 20, has filed a civil suit against Bryant in federal
court for what she says have been months of pain and suffering since the
alleged assault at a Vail-area resort where she once worked.
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