by Charlie Brennan
DENVER, Colorado, July 23 (AFP) - The judge in NBA superstar Kobe Bryant's rape case Friday dealt a bitter blow to the prosecution by ruling that key details of his accuser's sex life will be allowed into evidence at trial.
Judge Terry Ruckriegle ruled that the alleged victim's sexual activity around the time of the alleged June 30, 2003 sexual assault would be admitted into evidence at Bryant's trial, due to start August 27.
All evidence of "the alleged victim's sexual conduct within approximately 72 hours preceding her physical examination ... is relevant ... to the determination of cause of injuries observed by the nurse" and the source of "the DNA and other bodily fluids found," the judge said in a written ruling.
The decision represents a bombshell for prosecutors who have claimed that the injuries to the then-19-year-old woman's genitals were caused by National Basketball Association star Bryant raping her in his hotel room.
Bryant claims, however, the sex was consensual and that the injuries could have been caused by multiple sex partners within a short period of time around the woman's encounter with Bryant.
Bryant, 25, who is married, has pleaded innocent to the charge of sexual assault, which could see him jailed for life.
The judge's keenly-anticipated seven-page ruling was one of the most critical decisions to the future of the case.
Prosecutors wanted details of the woman's sexual history kept out of reach of the trial jury, while Bryant's lawyers have fought tooth and nail to be allowed to expose her intimate behaviour at trial.
But after months of arguments and hearings in the mountain hamlet of Eagle in the western state of Colorado, Judge Ruckriegle came down on the side of the Los Angeles Lakers guard's high-profile defense team.
Experts said his decision could deal a fatal blow to the prosecution case, which has been under the magnifying glass for more than a year.
"This is a huge victory for the defense," said former Denver prosecutor Craig Silverman, who has been following the case.
He predicted it's possible that the decision could lead to Eagle County District Attorney Mark Hurlbert making a decision not to take the high-profile case to trial.
"They have established exceptions to Colorado's 'rape shield' law," said Silverman. "If they can present credible evidence that this young lady had sex after Kobe Bryant, but before she went to the cops, then it is hard to see how the prosecution can possibly prevail."
At issue in the judge's decision was whether to permit a relaxation of a Colorado law blocking the sexual history of sexual assault victims from being brought up at trial.
Another legal expert, defense lawyer Dan Recht, agreed that the decision to allow jurors to hear details accuser's sexual history was a disaster for prosecutors and could lead to them dropping the case against Bryant.
"This is devastating for the prosecution," said Recht. "It will at least make them think about whether they want to go forward, or not."
No comment was immediately available from John Clune, an attorney representing the alleged victim and her family.
And prosecution spokeswoman Krista Flannigan said no decisions had yet been made in the wake of the ruling.
"It's such a significant ruling, that we need the opportunity to carefully evaluate and make decisions about how we're going to proceed," she said.
She did not rule out the possibility that the case could be dismissed, but said plans for next month's celebrity trial would push ahead until any decision to the contrary was made.
"That always is (a possibility). I guess, whenever you're evaluating anything that happens. But I wouldn't play that up any more with this ruling than I would any other ruling."
Bryant's lawyers have contended in oral arguments, documents and pretrial hearings that the alleged victim, now 20, had consensual sex with three men -- including Bryant -- in the 72 hours prior to her hospital examination on the afternoon of July 1 last year.
One tryst took place within 15 hours of her encounter with Bryant at the luxury Lodge and Spa at Cordillera hotel on the night of June 30 and her rape examination the following afternoon, the defense has claimed.
Such sexual activity, the lawyers claim, could have caused the microscopic vaginal injuries cited by prosecutors as evidence of forced penetration by Bryant.
At a preliminary hearing in October, it was revealed that the alleged victim had consensual sex with a friend two days before her encounter with Bryant.
But the defense has also revealed that during the accuser's rape examination, her underwear was found to contain the semen and sperm of a man other than Bryant.