Thursday, February 13, 2020

Kobe Bryant Sexual Assault Statement Analyzed



Questions  for Analysis: 

Did Kobe Bryant rape a teenaged girl who accused him?

Did the alleged victim reliably report a sexual assault?

The impact of rape is life long. The language often reflects this and the victims may experience a renewal of the trauma at any reminder.  Victims may also experience a crisis when they age and experience a natural declination of hormonal strength.  This is when depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, etc, may be evidenced, even by victims who appeared to have coped well for many years prior. 

We hold special training in Statement Analysis for investigators as well as treatment providers in the language of sexual abuse victims. 

With rape, we can see a "back and forth" in language; both reliable and unreliable. 

The reasons for this are many, including embarrassment, shame, trauma, disassociation, as well as self loathing and even portions of the statement where the subject was engaging in a consensual act.  

Disassociation, in particular, can mimic deception in language. Sex Crimes Units and other professionals benefit from both the instructions and the volume of statements analyzed.  This can affirm for those with much experiencing interviewing victims what their instincts led them to believe. 


The following is portions of an article on Kobe Bryant alleged rape statement. The article includes statements about what happened. 

We begin by believing the subject, both the accused and the accuser, and allowing their words to guide us. 

Rape is an allegation that is such that we expect a strong, reliable denial once the subject understands what it is that has been alleged against him. 

"I didn't force her.  It was consensual."
"I didn't rape her."

These are expected denials, yet it can be influenced by the interviewer's wording. 

The expectation is very strong---it is the natural response to the allegation. 

It represents the subject's verbalized perception of what happened and we expect the subject to establish this psychological "wall of truth" and remain safely behind it in an open statement or response to the open ended question of what happened. 

The following are notes from the team analysis: 

Charged with sexual assault and false imprisonment Bryant’s case did not go to trial. 

On Sept. 1, 2004, a week before the trial, the case was dismissed when  the accuser, who had been smeared as promiscuous for months by the media and Bryant’s defense team, refused to testify. 

She filed a separate civil suit against Bryant, and had agreed to dismissal of the sexual-assault charge against him provided the athlete issued the following apology to his accuser, which was read in court by Bryant’s attorney. 





Last night I was at work and I was sexually assaulted.”
a.     Time 
b.    Location
c.     Event 
d.    Who assaulted her?
e.     Is “sexual assault” different from rape?
f.      “I was sexually assaulted” --- on its form, this is reliable. It was about her, not the alleged rapist. She, herself, was sexually assaulted. This is her focus. 

clips from article: 

The accuser said she arrived late to work at the Lodge & Spa at Cordillera, a resort in Edwards, Colorado—between Eagle and Vail—at around 2 p.m. on June 30. At around 4 p.m., she said she received a call from a travel agent checking in on a reservation for
 “Javier Rodriguez,” and the agent “divulged the information to me that it was actually Mr. Bryant. And that it was very important that we got him and his two companions a room. So, there were three rooms all together.” 

The use of "we" here is to unite the subject with co workers. 


The other rooms were being held under the names “Joe Carlson” and “Mike Ortiz,” who were in Bryant’s entourage. The accuser, who worked at the front desk, was scheduled to be off at 7 p.m., but told officers she stayed later because “I was excited to meet Kobe Bryant,” and that she “was trying to make up the extra hours” that she missed by not getting to work on time (her work day was supposed to begin at 11 a.m.).

They showed up around 9:45, 10:00. I met Mr. Ortiz um, met Mr. Bryant and they asked me to escort him to his room,” she told police. When they got to the room, she says, Bryant made a request: “Mr. Bryant asked me, kinda in private if I would come back in 15 minutes and give him a tour of the hotel. And I said that I would.”

"Mr. Bryant" is respectful from the teen regarding a celebrity. This is appropriate in context (no assault is alleged yet) 

"Mr. Bryant asked me"--- appropriate soft language of request. 

The accuser says she returned to his room around 10:30 p.m., and then showed Bryant the resort’s on-site facilities, including the spa, exercise, room, outdoor pool, and outdoor jacuzzi. She claims the tour portion was witnessed by Bob Pietrack, the bellman and a high-school friend of the accuser. Then, the two allegedly returned to Bryant’s room, sat down, and talked.

We were talking and (he)  asked me to open the jacuzzi for him,” she told police.
 “told him that my shift was over and I was gonna go home.

 "we" unity in "talking" (this conversation is important)
"asked" is appropriate (request) soft language. 
"told" is firm, one way, strengthening the rebuff. 

 He proceeded to try and convince me to come back in 15 minutes, which I told him I would just so I could get out of there and then I was just gonna leave and not come back. 

Subject needs to explain why she agreed. 

"proceeded" ---time has passed.  This may be related to the "talking" -- 

Um, I stood up to leave, he stood up,   asked me to give him a hug.

"I stood up": Tension (body posture)
Need to explain why she stood up ("to leave") sensitive 
"he stood up" shows more tension.
"asked" is soft. 


 I gave him a hug 

reliable on its form 


and he started kissing me 

"started" ---could be ongoing, including in her mind as she recalls what happened for police. 


and I let him kiss me. 


"I let him" is language found in many sexual assault victims who experience shame and by some who experienced sophistication disparity in the assault. It is a passivity that should cause investigators to explore her background--- it is something in the language that is consistent with childhood trauma, mental health issues. This can be anything from a struggle to say "no" up to early childhood sexual abuse where the natural development of boundaries has been hindered or slowed.  

She dropped the pronoun reducing commitment. This could be deception, or it could be shame. The next sentence may indicate the answer: 


And the kissing continued then he took off his pants. 


"the kissing continued" is not "we kissed" or he kept kissing me. It is very likely that the kissing here was consensual and/or that she did not, at this point, tell him to stop. 

"...he took off his pants" is reliable on its form. 

Did you notice she began here with the element of time?  

"And the kissing continued then he took off his pants."


The passage of time affirms her need to explain why she got up from the bed ("stood") in her intention to leave. 

Notice how this theme of time passing continues: 

And that’s when I tried to back up and leave.

We look for the word "we" to show unity.  It is not present here in the alleged attack. 

 And that’s when he started to choke me.”

Power-control
Silencing of victim 
Humiliation of victim 
Restraint: Perpetrator unwilling to let her go, or let her speak.  
Entitled perp -celebrity, wealth, and perhaps:  experience. 

Asked by police what she was thinking at the time, she responded,
 “I was thinking that his actions were getting physical, and that I wanted to get out of the room.”

This indicates how the time was 'ticking away' in her mind, finding its way into the language. 


She estimates the kissing lasted for five minutes, and that that part was consensual. What happened after, she says, was not. 


He started, um, groping me, I guess I’d say. ( )  Putting his hands on me, grabbing my butt, my chest. ( ) Trying to lift up my skirt. Proceeded to take off his own pants. ( )  Trying to grab my hand and make me touch him.” 

weak commitment to the language of "groping" -- note context of age 

"proceeded" is time passing 

Note dropped pronouns with ( )
Now ownership of possessive pronouns indicates a grasp of boundaries 

I told him once that I needed to leave,” she added. “He didn’t say anything. 

Did he depersonalize the victim by ignoring her? 


If he did he didn’t make any gestures or anything that would let me know that he did.” 

At this point, the accuser told police that Bryant began to get rough with her:

 When he took off his pants that’s when I started to kinda back up, and try to push his hands off me and that’s when he started to choke me. He wasn’t choking me enough that I couldn’t breathe, just choking me to the point that I was scared.”

She told police, he began “grabbing and rubbing” her vagina over her panties. That lasted “two to three minutes, and during that time I was trying to uh, pull away.” 

Then, she says, he grabbed her neck with both arms. She claims that she didn’t say anything to him at this time, but he knew she was trying to leave “because I kept trying to back away and move towards the door.”  

According to the accuser, Bryant put his body between her and the door. 

“I try and walk to the side, and he would walk to the side with me. And that’s when he started to put his hands on my neck. He was groping me, I tried to leave, tried to break away, that’s when he grabbed my neck. And at that point I was just looking at him, didn’t know what to do, didn’t know what to say.”

The commitment strengthens here: 

Then he held me by my neck and physically forced me over to the side of the couch. That’s when he continually had one hand around my neck and with his other hand pushed me over to the side of the two chairs um, turned me around and bent me over and lifted up my skirt.”

She told police that “at that point I was just kinda scared and I said no a few times,” adding she said no “when he lifted up my skirt” and again “when he took off my underwear.” 

"told" is firmer, while "said" is softer.  This may be due to the emotion cited --fear and the location of his hands, including upon her throat: 


When asked by police how she knew Bryant had heard her, she replied, “Because every time I said no he tightened his hold around me.”

This is control.  It justifies the word "said" 


The accuser said that, with one arm still around her neck, Bryant “would lean his face real close to me and ask me questions.” 

note sensory recall and likely intimidation of proximity and size differential 


The question: “You’re not gonna tell anybody right.” 
“I said no. And he didn’t hear me or asked me to say it louder.

 (.  )  Wanted me to turn around and look at him while I said it,”

Power control rapist: 
Depersonalization of assault changes to personalization of obtaining her silence. 
Soft response (coercive nature) 

 She said that Bryant asked her the question “three or four” times, and her response every time was “no” because “I was scared that if I told him yes, I’m gonna tell somebody, I’m gonna get out of here now, that he would become more physical with me. Or try harder to keep me in there.” 

And then,” she said, “he lifted up my skirt, took off my underwear and, and came inside me.” 

reliable on its form 


She continued: “That’s when he kept coming inside me and then he leaned his face toward mine and asked me if I liked it when a guy came on my face, I said no. Then he was like what did you say. 
( )Grabbed and like tightened his hold on my neck, I said no. He said he was gonna do it anyway. 

humiliation of victim 


And then at that point I got a little bit more aggressive with him and tried to release his hands from my neck. And he was still behind me and at that point he’s still choking me, I was not trying as hard as I could of to get away, but I was still trying.”


The penetration, she told police, lasted about “five minutes,” during which time she was crying, saying that the crying began “when he was coming inside, or started having sex with me.”

note the consistency of distancing language.  
Note dropped pronoun (shame?) 


 During the sex, Bryant reportedly said, “I like Vail, Colorado.”
Prior—was he trying to humiliate her? (“do you like it when…”) and is he now boasting/taunting? 

Interesting and apparent non important (unnecessary) detail given--likely reliable and something that may have left an imprint upon her.  

To this point, her resistance has been seen in softer language ("said" rather than "told") as his grip tightened. This is congruent with physical coercion and/or threat of. 

When I started to get a little bit more aggressive, tried harder to get away, that’s when he stopped,” she said. “I stood up and turned around and he forced me to stay in the room until I had calmed down a little bit. Made me fix my hair and wash my face.”

Afterward, she told officers that Bryant issued her a warning. “It is just between the two, the two of us nobody is gonna know about this, you’re not going to tell anybody. Not asking me just telling me.”

interesting in the recall of what he said, the word "we" does not come from her. 


***************************************************
Bryant’s version of the events differed from the accuser’s. He was questioned by police at around 11:30 p.m. the day after the alleged sexual assault at the Lodge & Spa at Cordillera.

“Um, she showed me around the pool, showing me around, um, we went to my room, she showed me the back view where the bears come up to the window, and that’s about fucking it, we shot the shit and that was it,”


that was it so there is no need to ask further questions. 

Bryant  then denied three times that anything had happened with the woman to police.  Initial lying about sex is expected---the repetition shows resistance to any admission.  Investigators should consider, at this point, if the subject has harmed previous victims. 

When informed that the accuser had made an allegation of sexual assault against him, it is the perfect time to deny it. 

Let's examine what he said: 


Is there any way I can settle this whatever it is, I mean? If my wife, if my wife found out that anybody made any type of allegations against me, she would be infuriated.”

He began with a question, rather than. denial .

He asked the police to let him "settle this" ---indiction of celebrity/wealth entitlement. 


When police informed him that the accuser had submitted to a physical exam and they’d taken semen and blood evidence from her person, Bryant admitted that the two had sex. 

Note his focus is not upon the act, but upon a need he has: 

“Uh, this is what I need to know because uh, I did have sexual intercourse with her,” It was totally consensual.”

He has the need to explain why he needed this information prior to making a denial.  

"totally" is to add emphasis. 

Bryant told the officers that when he and the accuser got back to the room, she showed him her back tattoo and then kissed him, and they began to kiss. 

"she showed him her back tattoo" is reliable on its form as reported. This may be part of the important conversation that the accuser references but does not elaborate upon. 


The officers asked Bryant whether she said no or resisted: 

This is where he could also simply deny assaulting her.  

Instead: 

OK. I’m thinking, I’m thinking, I’m thinking. (Pause.) I’m trying to think of the conversation we had.”

OK is a pause and possible ingratiation with police (congruent with his asking them if he could "settle this") 

"I'm thinking" 3 times 

4th time referring to the "conversation" that "we" (his perception of the conversation) had. 

The subject needed time to think of how to counter the allegation, which is consistent with his "need to know" before responding. 

Does the subject have experience in sexual assault? 



He admitted that he “held her from the back” and that the sex lasted about five minutes.

The officers then likely surprised the subject with a specific detail: 

“Did you ever ask her if you wanted, if you could cum in her face?” 

Yes,” Bryant replied, adding, “That’s when she said no. That’s when she said no. That’s when she said no.”

He was "thinking, thinking, thinking, thinking" and now he has his answer.  That's "when" ---timing.  


Bryant contended that the woman gave him oral sex for approximately “five seconds” prior to the sex, and that everything was “consensual.”

At one point, when police described the accuser as “attractive,” 

Bryant corrected them. “She wasn’t that attractive,” said Bryant. 

The subject returns to the victim of whom he depersonalized.  She is now beneath him aesthetically.  

His hostility towards her is now distinctly sexual: 


Then, when officers asked him about “finishing,” he replied, “I didn’t finish a fucking thing,” adding, “I jerked off when she left.

missing information

When asked by officers if he’d ever cheated on his wife before, Bryant replied, “Um, yes, with one other person. And she could actually testify I do that um, I do the same thing, I hold her from the back, I put my hands (inaudible).” 

Her name is Michelle,” continued Bryant, adding she’s a “frequent” partner of his.

He offered about "hold her from the back" as it is on his mind. This allows the police to them inform him of physical evidence:

 “She has a bruise on her neck,” 

to which he replied,

 YeahI mean that’s you know me and Michelle, that’s what we, we do the same thing." 

It could not be an assault of the teenager because his girlfriend will admit to it. 

When officers ask Bryant how often he has sex with “Michelle,” he replies, “A lot. She’ll tell you the same shit.”

In a supplemental police report, Det. Winters described a strange encounter with Bryant in which he hurled a T-shirt containing semen into the officer’s face. 


And in another supplemental report in Bryant’s case file, he chose to invoke Shaquille O’Neal’s name during the investigation—for reasons unclear.

According to the police report, while he was being questioned by the officers about the alleged sexual assault, Bryant said, “I should have done what Shaq does,” adding, “Shaq gives them money or buys them cars, he has already spent one million dollars.” 

note the need for "others" is a form of concealing guilt via psychologically diluting guilt.  


Bryant later  issued his first statement about the case to the Los Angeles Times, saying,


 “When everything comes clean, it will all be fine, you’ll see. But you guys know me, I shouldn’t have to say anything. You know I would never do something like that.” 

In the unreliable denial, he relies upon this relationship with the media to affirm his words.  


Four days later, he made his first public appearance since the allegations emerged, walking the red carpet with his wife Vanessa at the ESPY Awards at Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre. And on July 18, after he was formally charged with sexual assault and false imprisonment, Bryant held a news conference where, with his wife by his side, he contested the charges against him.

“I didn’t force her to do anything against her will. I’m innocent,” 

The Reliable Denial must have 3 components:

1. The pronoun "I"
2.  The past tense verb 
3. The allegation specifically answered. 

Here he violates component 3 


he said. “I sit here in front of you guys furious at myself, disgusted at myself for making a mistake of adultery.”


During the preliminary hearing, Det. Winters testified that the accuser had been examined the day after the alleged assault by Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) at the Valley View Hospital in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

The testimony follows: 



“[The nurse] stated that there were several lacerations to the victim’s posterior fourchette or vaginal area, and two of those lacerations were approximately one centimeter in length,” testified Det. Winters. “And there were many, I believe, 2 millimeter lacerations. Too many to count… [The nurse] stated that the injuries were consistent with penetrating genital trauma. That it’s not consistent with consensual sex.”



Det. Winters further stated that the nurse told him the vaginal injuries had most likely occurred within “24 hours,” and that the accuser had “a small bruise on her left jaw line.” Also, that examiners had found “blood excretions” on Bryant’s T-shirt “to about the waistline.” The blood, testified Det. Winters, had “the same DNA profile as the victim in this case.” 

Bryant’s defense team, on the other hand, brought up the accuser’s past sexual history. Bryant’s defense team claimed that the vaginal trauma suffered by the accuser could have been from having “multiple partners” in a short time span, though Det. Winters had testified that a nurse told him the injuries had likely occurred in the past 24 hours.

Furthermore, Bryant’s defense team focused on how the accuser admitted she was “excited” to meet Bryant—allegedly requesting an autograph of him prior to the alleged sexual assault—and called the accuser’s mental state into question.

Analysis Conclusion 

Kobe Bryant is indicated for deception

We began by believing that he did not assault her, but was consensual. 

His own words indicate otherwise. 

We also begin by believing her unless she talks us out of this position. 

She makes several statements that are reliable on their form about the assault.  

Question: Did the subject commit sexual assault on the accuser?   

Answer:  Yes 

The victim gave a reliable report on what he did, though she withheld what was said prior to the assault. It is likely that initial physical contact (kissing) was consensual and that both shame and trauma appear in her language.  

This next question was one of an opinion to the team: 

Do you believe the victim has had prior sexual assault?  

Yes -- the mental health issues can enter the language, reduce the commitment to resist (as can the coercion of violence) and indicate post trauma (ongoing) impact. 

The sophistication disparity between the teenager and the celebrity is noted, along with the physical disparity and the injuries she suffered. 

It is particularly note worthy that he targeted her throat, which seeks to control, silence and humiliate victims.  

Bryant read the following apology in court when the victim reported that she would not testify. 

Since the victim was reported to have come from a wealthy home, was reported to have mental health issues prior to the rape (including a reported suicide attempt), and was said to have had multiple partners by Bryant's attorneys, readers consider for themselves the decision to not testify:


First, I want to apologize directly to the young woman involved in this incident. I want to apologize to her for my behavior that night and for the consequences she has suffered in the past year.
 Although this year has been incredibly difficult for me personally, I can only imagine the pain she has had to endure. I also want to apologize to her parents and family members, and to my family and friends and supporters, and to the citizens of Eagle, Colo
I also want to make it clear that I do not question the motives of this young woman.

 No money has been paid to this woman. 

She has agreed that this statement will not be used against me in the civil case. 


Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did. After months of reviewing discovery, listening to her attorney, and even her testimony in person, I now understand how she feels that she did not consent to this encounter. I issue this statement today fully aware that while one part of this case ends today, another remains. I understand that the civil case against me will go forward. That part of this case will be decided by and between the parties directly involved in the incident and will no longer be a financial or emotional drain on the citizens of the state of Colorado.



If you wish to study deception detection, please visit Hyatt Analysis Services 

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

kinda low class to drag this out after he recently passed away.

Statement Analysis Blog said...

Kinda disgusting to deify a rapist which only causes a revisitation of the injuries upon the victim.

It is good to see where your sympathies remain.

I would not put my name on your post, either.

Peter

lynda said...

Sing it Peter!

It sickens me how they edify bryant. "Low class" to talk about him BEING a rapist but he's not low class for being one. Idiot.

RachelM said...

Truth needs to be heard

Sob123 said...

That poor girl watching him being glorified all these years and even more now that he has passed away. Reminds me of a case here in Ireland last year of a high profile Rugby player, Paddy Jackson, cleared of rape. I must go back and try find statements form the girl involved and sus them out. Love your work Peter, don’t ever stop

Bette Sweet said...

Signing yourself "Anonymous" certainly makes the case that you know an awful lot about being low class...

Barb said...

What Peter wrote about hormonal decrease bring on depression anxiety etc it is true....memories resurface also...my neurologist told me that “you remember at a certain age”....although I had had flashes of it my whole life, (I was told the flashes were classic PTSD) then my brain would block it out. It is horrific and sent me spiraling down. Doing somewhat better now but I can understan how some victims commit suicide, but I am too stubborn & resilient...I get kicked down I get up out of sheer stubborness. Meds can help as well.
Kobe is a disgusting rapist & there is nothing worse than rape imo...it cuts deep into the very mind & soul of the victim, it is a wound that festers and never heals.

Sob123 said...

Cont.

So I’ve just found a little newspaper article on that Paddy jackson rape case (unsure of reliability) but it wrote a few things the victim said in court. She kept using the word “you” instead of “I” when recalling the events
“In that situation you don’t scream or shout because you are so scared. You underestimate the state of shock you go into after being raped”
“..You go into shutdown..”

The court recognized this and said it seemed to be rehearsed rather than experience.
I’m new to statement analysis so not sure if this is because court case was a year after actual event and that’s why she was talking like that, or was it made up?

I know I need to find more to go on that just these few lines.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Peter for all that you do! I am a therapist and you are my inspiration!

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Peter! I think this is one of your best analyses.

Trigger said...

You are right on, Peter! Great post!

Phoenix1966 said...

Thank you for not allowing this woman to be forgotten as people seek to erase/shame any mention of this crime. I just wish in Kobe's lifetime an interviewer had had the strength of character to ask him as a father of daughters how he would feel if someone had treated any of them the way he treated this woman.

Barb said...

Phoenix, He probably raped them too.

Alex said...

I wonder if the same people that vilify President Trump praise Kobe Bryant.

happyuk said...

The vast majority of media, show-business and professional athletes are a disappointment when you meet them in the flesh. Most of them don't shape up in the character department: they are a combination of selfish, egotistical, obnoxious, entitled and many other negative qualities you care to mention.

But I would rather have seen this farmyard animal of a man feel the full weight of the law during his lifetime.