Bryant accuser files civil lawsuit
 |  Kobe Bryant |
| |
|  VIDEO |
 Kobe Bryant's accuser has filed a civil lawsuit against him.
|
|
(CNN) -- The woman who has accused Kobe Bryant of raping her filed a civil lawsuit Tuesday against the NBA star, seeking unspecified monetary damages.
The suit, named "Jane Doe vs. Kobe Bryant," was filed in federal court in Denver, just 17 days before the criminal trial is set to start, on August 27.
It alleges Bryant raped the woman, then 19, in his hotel room, restraining her "with force and violence against her will by choking her with his hands around her neck while bending her over a chair in the hotel room."
The accuser filed the suit under the name "Jane Doe" to "protect against acts and threats of physical harm to her person and to protect her significant privacy interests, including information of a highly sensitive and personal nature," the suit says. (Civil complaint
)
Bryant, 25, has pleaded not guilty to felony sexual assault. He has said the two had consensual sex in his hotel room at a Colorado resort on June 30, 2003.
Last week, John Clune, an attorney for the accuser, said mistakes made by court officials in releasing the accuser's name and other information on a Web site and in e-mails have made it "difficult to proceed with the case" and caused her to lose "faith in the court system."
There was no immediate indication Tuesday that the woman would be withdrawing from the state's criminal case. But CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said it is highly unusual for a civil suit to be filed before the criminal case is completed.
The Associated Press reported that the woman's attorneys asked for a jury trial and compensatory damages of at least $75,000, with punitive damages to be determined later.
A criminal case requires a higher standard of proof to convict -- beyond a reasonable doubt -- and punishment can involve prison time. A civil case has a lower standard of proof -- a preponderance of evidence -- and punishment is usually a monetary award.
The judge in the criminal case has imposed a gag order, prohibiting trial participants and their attorneys from talking to reporters.
If convicted in a criminal trial, Bryant could be sentenced to four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation, and fined up to $750,000.
The civil suit says the woman was working as a hotel employee at the Cordillera Lodge & Spa in Eagle, Colorado, when Bryant checked in, around 10 p.m. on June 30, 2003.
The suit claims the all-star guard for the Los Angeles Lakers asked the woman to "escort him on a private tour of the resort hotel and its facilities" -- to which she complied. She gave him a tour for about 15 minutes and both flirted during that time, it says.
According to the suit, Bryant then asked her to come to his room. Shortly after she entered the room, Bryant asked her to join him in a whirlpool spa, an offer she declined, the suit says.
The woman then tried to leave, but "Bryant blocked her exit from the room, asking her for a hug."
"Plaintiff hugged defendant Bryant and he then began to kiss her lips and neck," the suit claims. "After a short period of time kissing her, defendant Bryant's voice became deeper and his acts became rougher as he started touching plaintiff's breasts and groping her in her genital region and buttocks."
Shortly afterward, the suit claims, the rape occurred.
The suit also claims Bryant has a "history of attempting to commit similar acts of violent sexual assault on females he has just met."
It goes on to say that the accuser has suffered stress, emotional distress and mental pain and suffering -- as well as being the subject of "public scorn, hatred and ridicule" -- as a result of the alleged sexual assault.
Copyright 2004 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
