Kings player found guilty of rape
May 08, 2007
AMERICAN Sydney Kings basketball recruit Bryant Matthews was found guilty today of sexually assaulting a woman.
Matthews appeared devastated today when a NSW District Court jury found him guilty of one count of sexual intercourse without consent.
But the jury acquitted him of a second count relating to the same 21-year-old woman, whom he met at an inner-Sydney pub last August when socialising with his new teammates.
Matthews, 25, rested his head briefly on the dock's bench before Judge Margaret Ainslie-Wallace remanded him in custody until July 27, when he is expected to be sentenced.
The offence carries a maximum of 14 years' jail, while the standard non-parole period is seven years.
The 2.06m professional basketballer said he believed the woman was consenting to him touching her intimately, when she was having sex with another man at the Erskineville unit of two Kings players.
He denied sneaking into the room in the dark to assault her while she was in bed with the other man.
The second charge, of which he was acquitted, related to a claim he touched her again the following morning, while she was still in bed with the other man.
AAP
