Former Sacramento Kings guard Ben McLemore was found guilty of rape.
On Thursday, a jury in Clackamas County, Oregon, convicted McLemore, 32, guilty of first-degree rape, first-degree unlawful sexual penetration, and one count of second-degree sexual abuse. According to online court documents, he was found not guilty on another charge of sexual abuse. He earlier pled not guilty.
According to police, the conviction was the result of an incident involving a 21-year-old woman at a home party in Lake Oswego, just outside Portland, in October 2021. McLemore attended a party with his Portland Trailblazers colleagues at former teammate Robert Covington’s residence.
In April, Ben McLemore was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service at Portland International Airport due to an outstanding felony warrant related to charges stemming from an incident that occurred while he was playing basketball overseas.
This week, McLemore was found guilty following a two-and-a-half week trial. The victim testified that she had been heavily intoxicated at the time of the incident and was incapable of giving consent.
During the trial, McLemore claimed he had also been drinking but insisted the encounter was consensual. According to reports from local outlets, including The Oregonian, he admitted to having no conversation with the victim before, during, or after the incident.
McLemore last played in the NBA during the 2021–22 season with the Portland Trail Blazers, concluding a nine-year career. He was selected seventh overall by the Sacramento Kings in the 2013 NBA Draft after playing at Kansas. Over his career, he played five seasons with the Kings across two stints, and also had spells with the Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, and Los Angeles Lakers.
According to Clackamas County Circuit Court documents, his sentence will take place next Wednesday.