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.
