By: (AP) Denver's Rocky Mountain News and attorneys for Kobe Bryant have both asked a federal judge to lift the anonymity of the woman who accused the Los Angeles Lakers star of rape, saying her decision to file a federal lawsuit against him should require that she be treated equally with the defendant.
"The plaintiff's desire to have it both ways -- preserving her anonymity while exposing the intimate details of her sexual encounter with Mr. Bryant and requiring him to bear alone the burden of constant public scrutiny -- suggests that" her lawsuit is more about putting pressure on the NBA star than anything else, Bryant's attorneys wrote.
The Rocky Mountain News said in its motion that courts rarely allow parties in civil suits to remain anonymous, even cases of alleged sexual assault.
The News cited a lawsuit in which a judge refused to withhold the identity of a woman who claimed that the late rap singer Tupac Shakur had sexually assaulted her, saying "Fairness requires that she be prepared to stand behind her charges publicly."
The newspaper's legal filing does not necessarily mean it would publish the woman's name but ensures that it would have the right to, Editor John Temple said.
The newspaper also argued that Bryant's accuser cannot claim that identifying her would cause damage because her name has already been published in Eagle County, where she lived at the time of the alleged assault, and elsewhere, and is available on the Internet.
"The unfairness of allowing a plaintiff, proceeding anonymously, to publicly attack and vilify a named defendant ... is a compelling reason to deny a plaintiff's request for anonymity," Bryant's lawyers said.
Attorney L. Lin Wood, who represents the woman, disagreed.
"Both the public and the media have a more important interest in this case, and that is to protect the safety and well-being of this young girl," he said.
Wood said the woman, now 20, has received several death threats.
The criminal sexual assault charge against Bryant was dismissed Sept. 1 after the alleged victim said she could no longer participate.
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