New Delhi, July 3 -- A Clackamas County jury found ex-Portland Trail Blazers player Ben McLemore, 32, guilty of first-degree rape and sexual abuse on July 3 after 10 hours of deliberation. The charges stemmed from a 2021 party at teammate Robert Covington's Lake Oswego home where McLemore assaulted a heavily intoxicated 21-year-old college student who had passed out on a couch.

Though McLemore testified the encounter was consensual, the jury convicted him on three of four counts, rejecting his claim that the woman initiated contact while he slept. The two-week trial featured testimony from both McLemore and his accuser, plus former Blazers players.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from MINT....