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By Elayne Fluker | Published December 5, 2011 | Full size is 620 × 480 pixels

Kobe Bryant and wife Vanessa Bryant In the summer of 2003, the Eagle, Colorado sheriff's office announced that they had arrested NBA superstar Kobe Bryant in connection with a sexual assault complaint filed by a 19-year-old woman. The woman accused Bryant, who was at The Lodge and Spa at Cordillera to have surgery, of raping her in his hotel room on July 1. If convicted, Bryant faced probation to life in prison. After he was formally charged on July 18, the Lakers star held a news conference adamantly denying he raped the woman, while wife, Vanessa, sat at his side and held his hand. Through tears and terse lips, he admitted to having an adulterous sexual encounter with the woman, but insisted it was consensual. His accuser reportedly told a friend that "She couldn't believe that his wife was sitting there and apparently didn't care about adultery." The case was later dropped after Bryant's accuser refused to testify. A separate civil suit was later settled out of court.

Kobe Bryant and wife Vanessa Bryant

In the summer of 2003, the Eagle, Colorado sheriff’s office…