Ben McLemore, former NBA guard, guilty on seven counts of sexual assault. These charges are the result of a hate crime incident that occurred in Lake Oswego, Oregon, on October 3, 2021. Backstory on lawsuit This latest ruling comes after a five-year-long legal battle. This fight started when he was arrested two months after the sexual assault report.
The Clackamas County District Attorney’s office agreed to prosecute McLemore’s case. It was about criminal charges that included first-degree rape, first-degree unlawful sexual penetration and second-degree sexual abuse. In early February 2024, a Clackamas County grand jury returned an indictment against him.
At trial, McLemore’s lawyers said that the sexual contact started by the victim had been consensual. In a blistering verdict, the jury found that. Oregon prosecutors found him guilty on one count of each of first-degree rape, first-degree unlawful sexual penetration and second-degree sexual abuse. On the third count, an incident of oral copulation, he was acquitted of an additional count of second-degree sexual abuse.
Within hours of police starting to investigate the assault report, McLemore was named as a suspect. When the incident occurred, he was a member of the Portland Trail Blazers. The player, who was drafted seventh overall in 2013 out of Kansas, has played for five teams across nine seasons in the NBA.
Sentencing for McLemore is scheduled for July 9 at 9:30 a.m. PT.
John Wentworth, the DA for Clackamas County, stressed the need for accountability in his release about the case.
“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.” – John Wentworth
McLemore had insisted he didn’t do it the entire trial, not guilty on all four counts charged against him. The impact of the trial’s result will be a historic victory or defeat in the fight against sexual harassment claims against prominent figures.
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