Kobe’s accuser appears in court

The 25-year-old Bryant is accused of sexually assaulting the alleged victim at a Colorado resort, a Class 3 felony with penalties ranging from four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation.

Bryant, who was in Colorado for surgery on his right knee at the time of the alleged assault, claimed the two had consensual sex.

The 19-year-old woman slipped into the court room through a side door. Bryant was also present at the closed pre-trial hearing, marking the first time the two were in the same room since the incident on June 30.

The defense has insisted throughout that the accuser had sex with someone else less than 15 hours after her alleged assault by Bryant, and that she had "multiple acts of sex" in the three days prior to her encounter with him.

The woman’s attorney attempted to protect the witness on the strength of Colorado’s "rape shield" law, which prohibits using an alleged rape victim’s sexual history to discredit one’s case.

The Colorado Supreme Court denied the prosecution’s appeal to keep Bryant’s accuser from answering questions about her sexual history.

The hearing, which continues on Thursday, will also deal with a motion by the defense that Bryant was illegally questioned by investigators at the Colorado resort. Bryant’s attorneys want the statements made to the police to be thrown out as evidence.