Accuser Will Be Named in Court

Indicating he did not want to appear biased in favor of Kobe Bryant’s accuser, a federal judge ruled Wednesday that the woman’s name will be used in her civil suit against the Laker star.

Meanwhile, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation determined that it will not release records of its findings in the criminal case, including results of DNA testing and of clothing, hair and fibers taken from Bryant and the 20-year-old woman who accused him of rape.

The felony sexual assault charge was dismissed Sept. 1 -- more than 14 months after the encounter at a mountain resort -- when the accuser decided she would not testify.

A trial in the civil case is not expected to take place until next year and could be averted if a settlement is reached. The woman has sued for unspecified damages for “ridicule, pain and suffering” since the alleged rape.

The woman’s name was not used in pretrial court filings and hearings in the criminal case. However, it would have been used during a trial. Her attorneys have said that among the reasons she dropped out was that she lost faith in the criminal justice system because the court mistakenly released her name several times.

She will be referred to by name in the civil case. District Judge Richard Matsch said that allowing the woman to remain anonymous could be prejudicial to Bryant and ordered that the suit be refiled by Oct. 20 with her “true name disclosed.”

The judge noted that the suit filed by the woman’s attorneys detailed her account of the alleged rape and that Bryant’s attorneys were justified when they wrote that “permitting these allegations to be made anonymously imposes significant prejudice and hardship on the defendant.”

Matsch went on to say, “The parties appear as equals before the court and that fundamental principle must be protected throughout these proceedings.”

Most mainstream media outlets have not identified the woman because of long-standing policies not to name alleged rape victims.

In determining whether to release its records, the CBI sought guidance from the Colorado attorney general’s office and decided the decision should be made by the Eagle County Sheriff’s Dept.

“Our view is that the custodian of the records is the requesting agency, and that is the sheriff’s office,” CBI spokesman Pete Mang said. “Technically, the information belongs to them. The sheriff’s office requested our help from the beginning.”

The sheriff’s office released 354 pages of previously sealed records Friday. However, little of the released material pertained to CBI test results.

The Eagle County district attorney’s office also has the CBI records. Dist. Atty. Mark Hurlbert could release as early as Friday a portion of the 4,000 pages of sealed records in the case.