Bryant team could seek rehab records

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_2465038,00.html

Media reports and some of the 19-year-old Eagle woman's friends have
said she entered a rehabilitation center for substance abuse and
sexual trauma.

Bryant's lawyers, the Denver team of Pamela Mackey and Hal Haddon,
want records from the woman's two emergency hospital treatments and
from her visit to a rape crisis center.

"You can anticipate a big battle over these medical records just as
they're battling over prior medical records," said Craig Silverman, a
former Denver prosecutor. "If she was under the influence at the time
of the alleged crime or when she reported it or when she testifies,
then the jury is entitled to know about it."

"Out of respect for the privacy of the family, we're not going to
comment at all," said Krista Flannigan, the DA's spokeswoman.

A representative of a high-profile Arizona facility that offers
treatments for psychological conditions and addictions would neither
confirm nor deny that Bryant's accuser was there.

An advocate for rape victims, Cynthia Stone of the Colorado Coalition
Against Sexual Assault, said the woman was traumatized during the
alleged crime and has been retraumatized since then from the massive
media publicity and even death threats.

"We always advise victims to not go through this alone and to seek
whatever help would be appropriate to them," Stone said. "If this is
true, that she is in a treatment center, we think this is a very
positive step for her on her road to recovery."