A jury in Oregon has found former NBA guard Ben McLemore guilty on multiple charges stemming from a 2021 sexual assault case.
WARNING: This article contains graphic information.
McLemore, 32 years old, was convicted of first-degree rape, first-degree unlawful sexual penetration and second-degree sexual abuse after 10 hours of jury deliberations in Clackamas County. He was acquitted on a second count of second-degree sexual abuse, according to ESPN.
“We recognize there are those who fear individuals with celebrity status or a position of prominence can avoid prosecution. Not in Clackamas County. This case demonstrates my office prosecutes criminal acts regardless of the offender’s community status,” District Attorney John Wentworth said in a statement.
The incident occurred on October 3, 2021, at a party hosted by McLemore’s then-Portland Trail Blazers teammate Robert Covington. Prosecutors argued the victim, a 21-year-old woman, was “hammered unconscious drunk,” and described her as vomiting and struggling to walk before passing out on a couch at 2 a.m.
McLemore allegedly began sleeping on the same couch and woke the victim around 6 a.m. by penetrating her with his fingers before having sexual intercourse. Prosecutors said the victim was still “fading in and out” of consciousness during the assault but later sought a specialized medical exam for sexual assault victims.
McLemore’s defense team argued the encounter was consensual, with attorney Lisa Maxfield stating, “The only reasonable verdict in a case where two people get drunk and have sex and the man is drunker than the woman, the only reasonable verdict in a case like that is not guilty,” via KGW.
McLemore was first arrested in April 2024 and pleaded not guilty to all charges. At the time of his release on bail, he said, “The truth will come to light.”
The former seventh overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft last played in the league during the 2021-22 season with the Trail Blazers. He also spent time with the Lakers, Rockets, Grizzlies and Kings before continuing his career overseas in China, Greece, Spain and Turkey.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for next Wednesday.
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