DECISION ON CHARGES AGAINST KOBE DELAYED.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

Prosecutors in Colorado said Monday that it will be at least several days before they decide whether to file charges against Lakers star Kobe Bryant, who has been arrested on a sexual-assault accusation.

So far, authorities in Eagle County, Colo., have declined to detail the accusations, and the case file has been sealed by a judge who freed Bryant on Friday on a $25,000 bond.

``There is still an ongoing investigation, and we cannot talk about the facts,'' District Attorney Mark Hurlbert said during a nationally televised news conference Monday.

He opened the possibility that Bryant will not be charged at all.

An attorney for Bryant, in a written statement, predicted that the basketball star would be ``completely exonerated.''

The accuser is an adult, authorities said, but her identity is being withheld as is common in sexual-assault cases. The case stems from an incident that reportedly took place June 30 at a resort hotel in the Vail area. The woman filed the sexual assault claim July 1.

Bryant was in Vail to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, which is stricken with tendinitis and bothered him all season. Team officials had no other information about the nature of the surgery. Paul Pastor, general manager for the Lodge and Spa at Cordillera in nearby Edwards, confirmed to The Denver Post on Sunday that Bryant stayed at the luxury resort from June 30 to about Thursday.

Noting the complex nature of sexual-assault cases, Hurlbert said it could take all week, and perhaps longer, for him to review the case and decide whether to proceed.

``It's possible he'll be charged with sexual assault. It's possible he won't be charged with anything,'' Hurlbert said. ``It's possible he'll be charged with something different.''

Authorities declined to say whether there was any physical evidence or whether the purported victim had sought medical treatment.

``I have talked with her, and she seems to be doing OK,'' Hurlbert said.

The case file was sealed at Hurlbert's request to protect the woman and the integrity of the case.

As authorities mulled their next move, they were forced to defend their actions leading to Bryant's arrest and the sheriff's decision to publicize it Sunday afternoon in the face of criticism from some legal experts that identifying Bryant before being charged was unfair and unnecessary.

``It is foolish to arrest somebody like Kobe Bryant and run his name through the mud if the district attorney is not going to follow up and file charges,'' Craig Silverman, a former Denver deputy district attorney told The Denver Post. ``It serves no legitimate purpose. It signals that law enforcement is out to hurt Kobe Bryant.

``Stuff like that happens and sometimes the press never hears about it and I think it is appropriate until charges are filed.''

Bryant, who had returned to his Newport Beach home after surgery, was contacted by sheriff's deputies and returned to Colorado on Friday after an arrest warrant was issued. He was in custody for less than an hour, according to Sheriff Joseph Hoy, and was released on a $25,000 bond.

If Bryant is charged with a crime, he would be ordered to return to Colorado for a hearing Aug. 6.

The sheriff said his investigators learned of the case July 1 and spent nearly 30 hours on the case before contacting Bryant. Defense attorneys were notified Thursday and Bryant returned to Colorado the next day, sheriff's spokeswoman Kim Andree told The Associated Press.

``There wasn't any urgency. We felt we were doing the right thing for everyone involved,'' Hoy said. ``We wanted to give people the time to themselves to adjust'' because of the holiday.

Hoy obtained the arrest warrant from a local judge, circumventing the District Attorney's Office, according to wire reports. The judge determined there was probable cause to proceed.

Hurlbert initially criticized the sheriff's decision, but Monday he and Hoy stood side by side and sought to downplay the issue.

``Whatever was said about the Sheriff's Department and the way the warrant was done, what's done is done,'' Hurlbert said. ``Nothing illegal was done, nothing improper was done. I want to look forward and not backwards. And I support the sheriff, the Sheriff's Department, their investigators and this investigation.''

In a statement released late Sunday, Bryant's representatives criticized the sheriff's office, and said authorities had assured them no arrest warrant would be issued until after the holiday weekend.

``We are confident that upon the completion of an unbiased investigation, Mr. Bryant will be cleared of any criminal misconduct,'' said the statement, which was released on behalf of Bryant's attorneys, Pamela Mackey and Harold Haddon, and his agent, Robert Pelinka.

They accused the Sheriff's Department of bias.

``I guess I need to understand what her definition of bias means,'' Hoy said, ``because I'm kind of confused on what she's talking about. She needs to be a little bit more to the point, as to what bias means.''

Howard Beck, [phone]

howard.beck(at)dailynews.com