Content warning: This article contains depictions of alleged sexual assault.
A jury in Oregon found former NBA guard Ben McLemore was found guilty of raping a 21-year-old woman on Thursday, over an incident during his time with the Portland Trail Blazers.
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The trial lasted 11 days in Clackamas County, plus 10 hours of jury deliberations, per ESPN. McLemore was convicted on charges of first-degree rape, first-degree unlawful sexual penetration and second-degree sexual abuse, though he was found not guilty on a second count of second-degree sexual abuse.
The 32-year-old McLemore, who pleaded not guilty on all four counts, has a sentencing hearing scheduled for next Wednesday.
The local district attorney’s statement:
“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,” said District Attorney John Wentworth.
The incident in question occurred on Oct. 3, 2021 at a party at the home of McLemore’s then-Blazers teammate Robert Covington. Prosecutors said the victim was “hammered unconscious drunk,” to the point of vomiting and having difficulty walking. She reportedly passed out on a living room couch at 2 a.m.
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McLemore allegedly began sleeping on the same couch and woke up the victim at 6 a.m. by penetrating her with his fingers then having sexual intercourse with her. The victim was reportedly still “fading in and out” of consciousness, but sought a specialized medical examination for victims of sexual assault later that day.
Ben McLemore was the seventh overall pick of the 2013 NBA Draft. (Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images)
(Soobum Im via Getty Images)
In his defense, McLemore’s legal team claimed the encounter was consensual, and that he was also even more drunk than the victim, via KGW:
Defense attorney Lisa Maxfield argued McLemore should be acquitted. “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,” said Maxfield.
McLemore was first arrested in April 2024, and promised the “truth will come to light” shortly after being released on bail.
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The seventh overall pick of the 2013 NBA Draft, McLemore has not appeared in the NBA since the 2021-22 season. He played in the NBA for nine years, with stints on the Blazers, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings, the team that originally drafted him.
Since 2022, McLemore has played for teams in China, Greece, Spain and Turkey. He spent last season with Yukatel Merkezefendi while awaiting trial.
