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Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
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Derrick Rose’s Accuser Asks for Anonymity

LOS ANGELES (CN) — The woman who accused NBA star Derrick Rose and two other men of raping her showed the court evidence the case is being criminally investigated and wants the judge to reconsider his ruling that she should not remain anonymous during her civil trial.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald granted Rose's motion to prevent his former girlfriend from protecting her identity during a trial set for Oct. 4.

In a motion to reconsider filed Sunday, Jane Doe said that "new and additional facts have come to light," and told the judge she is "at risk of serious bodily injury or even death."

She referred to an exhibit that includes screenshots which show "misinformed fans" attacking her on social media.

"Releasing plaintiff's true name in this action will disrupt, and likely prevent any chance of a successful criminal prosecution," her motion for reconsideration states. "The state now has an interest in protecting the plaintiff and keeping her anonymous from the public spotlight."

Doe says at the time of the hearing, she did not have a letter from investigating LAPD Det. Nadine Hernandez.

"The newly obtained confirmation of an ongoing criminal investigation, and the need for anonymity in that proceeding, allows the court to change its ruling," Doe said.

Her attorneys have maintained for weeks that a criminal investigation is pending. In the motion, they say that Det. Hernandez has informed them that she will present the case to Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

"The ability to offer anonymity to victims of sex crimes is an invaluable investigative aid to investigators as well as a great comfort to victims of crimes of such a sensitive nature," Hernandez wrote in a copy of the Sept. 22 letter, attached to attorney Brandon Anand's declaration.

Rose was once one of the league's hottest prospects but his career has been plagued by injuries. With the rape claims pending, the Chicago Bulls traded him to the New York Knicks in June. The spotlight intensified this month when Doe held a conference call with reporters and one of her attorneys, Waukeen McCoy, called on the NBA to investigate Rose.

Doe claims in her lawsuit that in August 2013 she went to Rose's Beverly Hills residence with a girlfriend. According to court filings, Doe drank vodka and wine before she arrived and the group drank Tequila shots after she arrived. She began to feel unwell and says she believes she may have been drugged with an unknown substance before she left.

Her girlfriend Jessica Groff has said in court filings that she did not believe it was safe to leave Doe alone with the defendants, Rose, his best friend Randall Hampton and assistant Ryan Allen.

After Doe returned home in a taxi, she says, the three men trespassed at her downtown apartment and raped her.

Rose his co-defendants say the sex was consensual: that Doe bought a sex toy before she went to Rose's home, and texted the player to ask him to have sex with her.

"This is not a rape case," Rose said in court papers filed in August. "It's pure and simple extortion by a plaintiff who wants to hide behind the cloak of anonymity while seeking millions in damages from a celebrity with whom she was in a long-term nonexclusive consensual sexual relationship."

Doe says Rose's legal team has attacked her "morals and character in order to perpetuate incorrect myths about sexual assault."

She says that during their relationship Rose put her in uncomfortable position by making "requests for her to masturbate on video" and then asking her to have group sex. Doe always said no, she has said in court papers.

Rose's attorney Mark Baute did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

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