Bryant accuser files civil case

Bryant is one of the top-earning players in American basketball

The woman accusing basketball star Kobe Bryant of rape has filed a civil lawsuit.

A civil suit has a lower burden of proof than a criminal case, and cannot be punished by a jail term.

Mr Bryant, 25, is accused of raping the 19-year-old worker at a Colorado hotel where he was staying last year.

The Los Angeles Lakers star has admitted having sex with the woman but says it was consensual. The criminal trial is due to begin on 27 August.

Last month the judge in the criminal case ruled that details of the alleged victim's sex life could be brought up in court.

'Public scorn'

Legal experts said the decision was a huge victory for Mr Bryant, and could even persuade the accuser to drop her case.

Last week the woman's attorneys threatened to take the case to the civil courts.

On Tuesday a lawsuit was filed - under the name of "Jane Doe - seeking damages for pain, suffering and "public scorn, hatred and ridicule" she suffered because of the alleged attack.

Her attorneys requested a jury trial and compensatory damages of at least $75,000. They also said they would press for punitive damages, with the amount to be determined later.

It could well mean that [the accuser] is going to urge the prosecutor to dismiss the criminal charges Daniel Recht Denver attorney

A civil case requires a lower standard of proof - a preponderance of evidence - than a criminal case - beyond a reasonable doubt.

A spokeswoman for prosecutors in the criminal trial in the small Colorado town of Eagle said the civil case did not affect the trial at all.

Multiple sex claim

But Denver attorney Daniel Recht said: "It could well mean that [the accuser] is going to urge the prosecutor to dismiss the criminal charges."

Mr Bryant denies raping the woman on 30 June 2003.

His legal team say she is a fantasist, and claim she had sex with a number of different people in the days around her encounter with Mr Bryant, including sex with someone between the alleged attack and her reporting it to the authorities.

The woman's legal team has strongly denied that.

If convicted of sexually assaulting the woman in the criminal trial, Mr Bryant could face life in prison as well as fines of up to $750,000 (£400,000).

Mr Bryant, who is married and a father, has reportedly just signed a new seven-year contract with the Lakers worth $136m (£74m).