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EAGLE, Colo. (AP) — Prosecutors in the rape case against Kobe Bryant could get their turn this week to question witnesses on whether jurors should hear about the sexual history of the woman accusing the NBA star.
More than two dozen witnesses — including the 19-year-old woman's friends, former boyfriends and college roommates — have testified in closed-door hearings this spring after being called by defense attorneys for the Los Angeles Lakers' guard. Nine defense witnesses testified in private Monday.
Starting Tuesday, however, prosecutors could begin to present their case. Witness lists are sealed, but in a court filing Monday, prosecutors said they had planned to call a witness who was unable to testify because of a scheduling conflict. The filing said prosecutors will present their side of the issue once the defense is finished.
Also Tuesday, state District Judge Terry Ruckriegle was expected to resume a hearing on another key issue: whether certain evidence should be thrown out because it was gathered illegally.
Bryant's attorneys argue that investigators improperly questioned him and improperly executed a search warrant. Prosecutors say he voluntarily spoke with investigators and handed over evidence, including a T-shirt stained with the woman's blood and a rape kit performed on Bryant.
Among the witnesses who testified Monday were Johnray Strickland, a former boyfriend who met the alleged victim last year at the University of Northern Colorado, and Eagle County sheriff's Detective Doug Winters.
The defense says injuries found on the woman could have been caused by sex with multiple partners before and after her encounter with Bryant. The prosecution says the sexual history is irrelevant in determining whether the woman was assaulted.
"If they can put on credible evidence that she had sex after Kobe Bryant and before she went to the cops, I'm not sure we're even going to have a trial," said Craig Silverman, a former prosecutor who is following the case. "That one fact alone would cause reasonable doubt for one or more of the jurors."
The woman's attorney, John Clune, has denied that she had sex with anyone in the hours after her encounter with Bryant.
Bryant has said he had consensual sex with the woman last June at the Vail-area resort where she worked. If convicted of felony sexual assault, the 25-year-old basketball player faces four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation.
Ruckriegle has already barred defense access to the woman's medical records, though experts say witnesses will likely be called to discuss her purported suicide attempts and anti-depressant use.
Ruckriegle has said he would like to hear arguments on other topics Wednesday, including requests by the alleged victim and prosecutors to get a formal plea and trial date.
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