`I'M INNOCENT' KOBE ADMITS ADULTERY, DENIES RAPING WOMAN.

Byline: Kevin Modesti Staff Writer

His wife at his side, a tear streaming down his face, felony sexual-assault charges hanging over his life, Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant told the nation Friday: ``I'm innocent.''

Bryant's extraordinary nationally televised news conference at Staples Center came just four hours after he was charged by Colorado authorities with forcing a 19-year-old employee at a Vail, Colo., resort spa into ``submission'' in his hotel room June 30.

As Bryant delivered his halting statement, Vanessa Bryant, his wife of two years and the mother of his 6-month-old daughter, sat beside him as he admitted to adultery and clutched his right arm supportively.

``I didn't force her to do anything against her will,'' Bryant, 24, said.

``I sit here in front of you furious at myself, disgusted at myself for making a mistake of adultery. I love my wife with all my heart.''

Turning to Vanessa, Bryant said: ``You're a blessing. You're a piece of my heart. You're the air I breathe. And you're the strongest person I know. I'm so sorry for having to put you through this and having to put our family through this.''

Bryant and his attorney, Pamela Mackey, vowed to fight the charge that could lead to a sentence of four years to life in prison or probation as a registered sex offender that could last the rest of his life.

Kobe Bryant, the all-American boy, became Kobe Bryant, accused criminal, when Eagle County, Colo., District Attorney Mark Hurlbert announced at a 2 p.m. PDT nationally broadcast press conference that he had filed a single charge accusing Bryant of a class 3 felony, the equivalent of rape.

``Basically, it is alleged that he had sexual penetration or intrusion and he caused submission of the victim through actual physical force,'' said Hurlbert in the small Rocky Mountains town of Eagle, as he announced a decision that had been anxiously awaited since Bryant's July 4 arrest was made public.

Saying he had chosen ``after much deliberation'' to prosecute Bryant, Hurlbert said he is confident he has marshaled witnesses and physical evidence powerful enough to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt against one of professional sports' most popular figures.

Mackey, Bryant attorney, opened the Staples Center press conference by saying the charge is the result of a ``rush to judgment'' by Eagle County Sheriff Joe Hoy and should never have been filed.

``What happened in Colorado is a sexual encounter between two consenting adults,'' Mackey said. ``He had no reason to believe otherwise.''

Vanessa Bryant issued a statement saying she and Kobe ``will have to deal with'' his adultery.

``He is not a criminal ... He is a loving and kind husband and father. I believe in his innocence.''

She had accompanied her husband when he flew from California to Colorado on July 4 to turn himself in after a district judge granted an arrest warrant. Bryant was booked and fingerprinted, posted a $25,000 bond and flew home.

Bryant's alleged victim, a concierge and receptionist at the Spa & Lodge at Cordillera in Edwards, Colo., and a student at the University of Northern Colorado who once auditioned for ``American Idol,'' went to the Eagle County Sheriff's Department on July 1. The woman has not been identified by name, in accordance with Colorado law concerning sexual-assault cases. Hurlbert pleaded with the news media to respect her desire to remain private and make no public statements outside court.

Bryant had been in the Vail area to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.

He was ordered to return to Colorado on Aug. 6 for a court hearing at which he will be formally advised of the charges and his rights, and bail will be set. Hurlbert refused to speculate on when a trial might begin.

The Lakers are scheduled to go to training camp in late September in Honolulu and open the 2003-04 National Basketball Association season about Nov. 1.

To say the least, the Bryant charges and prospect of a legal battle are a blow to the Lakers' prospect of regaining the NBA championship they won three years in a row before crashing out of last season's playoffs in the quarterfinal round in May.

Friday's news dampened the team's celebration of the signings earlier in the week of two new stars, forward Karl Malone and guard Gary Payton, to join guard Bryant and center Shaquille O'Neal in a ``Hall of Fame'' lineup.

``Naturally, we're disappointed with (Friday's) announcement,'' Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said in a printed statement. ``While there are many questions concerning this issue, we will wait for time and the judicial process to answer them. In the meantime, we will continue to offer our support to Kobe and his family.''

The charges against Bryant signals a crushing fall from grace for the young man who has cultivated the image of a remarkably serious and clean person since turning professional right out of high school seven seasons ago at age 17.

Sports Business Daily named Bryant the NBA's ``most marketable athlete'' in 2001. Fans gave him the most votes in the league's all-star balloting last winter. He signed a $45 million endorsement deal with sportswear manufacturer Nike this year. A 30-points-a-game scorer, he seemed to be on the verge of fulfilling his hype as a transcendent ``next Michael Jordan.''

Now, his future is in doubt.

``He had a squeaky clean image,'' basketball fan Ron Alguire of Riverside said at a restaurant attached to Staples Center, the Lakers' downtown arena. ``He didn't go to bars. He didn't go to strip clubs. Now this puts him in a whole different light.''

Hurlbert indicated that if Bryant is convicted, he could receive a prison term ranging from four years to life or probation of 20 years to life, and could be fined $3,000 to $750,000.

In the court document, Hurlbert stated that ``Kobe Bean Bryant unlawfully, feloniously and knowingly inflicted sexual intrusion or sexual penetration on (the victim), causing submission of the victim ... through the actual application of physical force or physical violence.''

Bryant's unusual middle name - not generally known before now - comes from the nickname of his father, former NBA player Joe ``Jelly Bean'' Bryant.

Speculation on whether Kobe Bryant would face charges had crackled over talk-radio airwaves since Hurlbert and Hoy held a tense news conference July 7 to say they were investigating the woman's accusation. Reporters' questions centered on the sheriff's seeming eagerness to seek an arrest warrant before getting the prosecutor's approval.

``As in any sex-assault case, ladies and gentlemen, this did not come easily,'' Hurlbert said Friday, saying he had gone over the evidence, studied similar cases and consulted with other Colorado prosecutors.

``I believe that I have an ethical burden not to prosecute a case unless I can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt,'' Hurlbert said. ``The overriding concern here is justice for the victim and justice for Eagle County.''

Staff Writers Jill Painter and Ramona Shelburne contributed to this report.

Kevin Modesti, [phone]

kevin.modesti(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

4 photos, 3 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) Tears stream down Kobe Bryant's face as he admits adultery, with his wife, Vanessa, by his side. But he said he did not rape a Colorado woman, as she claims.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer

(2) Hulbert

(3) Kobe Bryant

(4) Vanessa Bryant

Box:

(1) CRIMINAL COMPLAINT

(2) KOBE BRYANT

(3) VANESSA BRYANT