**Charges pressed by DA after two weeks of deliberation **
EAGLE, Colo. – **Kobe Bryant was charged Friday with sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman in a case that is bound to tarnish the career of the NBA superstar.
The 24-year-old Bryant faces four years to life in prison if convicted on the single felony count**, Eagle County District Attorney Mark Hurlbert said during a news conference.
Bryant’s Denver-based attorney, Pamela Mackey, has scheduled a news conference at 9 p.m. ET time tonight at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, but there is no word whether Bryant will be there. Mackey also released a statement on Bryant’s behalf shortly after the announcement.
“I am innocent of the charges filed today. I did not assault the woman who is accusing me,” Bryant said in the statement. "I made the mistake of adultery. I have to answer to my wife and my God for my actions that night and I pray that both will forgive me.
“Nothing that happened June 30th was against the will of the woman who now falsely accuses me.”
The woman worked the front desk at the resort where Bryant was staying while in the state for knee surgery.
Bryant’s wife, Vanessa, also released a statement, saying she stood by her husband. “He is not a criminal,” she said.
NBA Commissioner David Stern released a statement Friday afternoon. “As with all allegations of a criminal nature, the NBA’s policy is to await the outcome of a judicial proceeding before taking any action,” he said. “We do not anticipate making further comments during the pendency of the judicial process.”
Hurlbert refused to talk about the details of the case.
He said he reviewed all evidence during the last two weeks and consulted prosecutors around the state before making his decision.
“This did not come easily,” he said.
Bryant, free on $25,000 bail, must return to court in Eagle on Aug. 6 for an advisement hearing.
Legal experts said the case could come down to witnesses.
“When you start with both people saying there was sex an enormous amount of the evidence doesn’t matter anymore,” said Larry Pozner, former president of National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. “Did anyone hear anything unusual. Was her clothing torn? Was he bruised, was she bruised? These become critical.”
Loyola University law school professor Laurie Levenson said if the case goes to trial, a jury might feel a personal connection to Bryant, just as they did in the O.J. Simpson murder trial.
“As a celebrity he comes in with a super presumption of innocence,” she said. "Any defendant whom the public knows by his first name, their reaction is, ‘No, not Kobe.’ You will come in with jurors thinking, ‘We don’t want him to have done it.’ "
The case has riveted the sports world for nearly two weeks because it involves one of the NBA’s brightest and most magnetic young stars.
Bryant, a father of a baby girl, has also used his clean image to land multimillion-dollar endorsement deals.
Documents in the case, including the arrest warrant, have been sealed.
Authorities have said Bryant assaulted the woman June 30 at the gated Lodge & Spa at Cordillera in nearby Edwards. He was in Colorado for knee surgery at a Vail clinic, and was booked at the lodge from June 30 to July 2.
Eagle County sheriff’s deputies took Bryant to Valley View Hospital in Glenwood Springs for tests early July 2, later letting him leave in a taxi with his bodyguards.
The woman also underwent tests, and Hurlbert has said he needed information from the state crime lab before making his decision.
Bryant surrendered to authorities July 4 and was released an hour later after posting bond. The sheriff refused to release Bryant’s booking photo for days.
The arrest was announced July 6, prompting a firestorm of media attention on this small mountain town 100 miles west of Denver.
Reporters swamped the cul-de-sac where the woman lives with her parents, but she has said nothing publicly. Her family has consulted an attorney.
The news stunned basketball fans: Bryant, a five-time All-Star who has already won three titles with the Lakers, is by most accounts a quiet man who prefers dinner with a few friends to joining teammates for a night on the town.
Sports marketing experts say the case will be a permanent blow to Bryant’s image, and could cost him millions in lost endorsements.
“The image was of a perfect role model, a superstar athlete who didn’t have a parking ticket, the all-American boy and now, well, that image is tarnished,” said Bob Williams, chief executive of Burns Sports & Celebrities Inc. in Evanston, Ill.
“As of today and until the trial, his image is going to take a beating.”
Nigel Powell, Nike Communications Director, issued a statement Friday that said the company remains “pleased to have a relationship with Kobe Bryant. He is a great player. Kobe has stated that he is innocent of the charges today. You will understand that this is a legal matter and we cannot comment further at this time.”
Bryant entered the NBA in 1996 at age 18, straight out of high school. He has drawn comparisons to the league’s greatest players and helped Los Angeles win titles from 2000-02.
Along with his determination, Bryant has also shown class, something many fans feel are missing from other NBA stars. He wept when the Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs by San Antonio in May, and he wore his hospital ID bracelet in a game the day after his daughter was born.
He married Vanessa Laine in April 2001. The two met on the set of a music video where Laine was working, and got engaged while she was still in high school. Vanessa gave birth to their first child, Natalia Diamante Bryant, in January.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
