Bryant Lawyers Seek Payment Disclosure

EAGLE, Colo. —  The woman accusing Kobe Bryant of sexual assault could have received no more than $20,000 from a public fund that compensates crime victims, and attorneys for the Laker star want to know who paid for visits they say she made to expensive addiction treatment centers.

Twice in recent court filings, attorney Hal Haddon asked prosecutors to divulge the amount of money the 19-year-old woman and her family have received and its source. Haddon wrote March 12 that payment to the woman could demonstrate “her financial bias in making and maintaining a false accusation.”

Haddon has twice mentioned that the woman received treatment at the Meadows in Wickenburg, Ariz., an addiction treatment center that typically charges about $35,000 a month. The defense also says the woman has stayed at rehabilitation centers in Florida and New Mexico since the encounter June 30.

Citing confidentiality policy, the administrator of the 5th Judicial District Victims Compensation Fund declined Tuesday to identify Bryant’s accuser as a beneficiary. She did, however, say the woman could have received no more than $20,000, the limit the fund disburses to any individual.

Dist. Atty. Mark Hurlbert has refused to divulge the amount of money the woman has been paid, and he said the only source of cash prosecutors know of is the 5th District fund.

The per-person cap is an indication the woman may have received money from another source, legal analyst Larry Pozner said. Haddon has asked prosecutors to provide him with information about the woman’s plans to publish a book and her contingent fee agreements with attorneys pertaining to a potential civil suit against Bryant.

“If it is established that she has a large financial motive, a jury would be ... fascinated by any kind of what’s-in-it-for-me conduct,” Pozner said.

Hurlbert said he had no knowledge of the woman’s plans to file a civil suit or publish a book.

Krista Whittle, victims service coordinator for the 5th Judicial District, said there is more than $100,000 in the fund.

The fund is replenished by a surcharge paid by anyone convicted of a crime.

A three-person board determines the amount of money awarded. In most cases, the funds are paid to the medical provider, although occasionally a check is written to the victim, Whittle said. The board members -- Renee Ristow, Virginia Diedrich and Peggy Kirschke -- were appointed by Hurlbert.