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- Former NBA guard Ben McLemore found guilty of rape in Oregon</p>
<p>Jack BaerJuly 4, 2025 at 12:53 AM</p>
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<p>Content warning: This article contains depictions of alleged sexual assault.</p>
<p>A jury in Oregon found former NBA guard Ben McLemore was found guilty of raping a 21-year-old woman on Thursday, over an incident during his time with the Portland Trail Blazers.</p>
<p>The trial lasted 11 days in Clackamas County, plus 10 hours of jury deliberations, per ESPN. McLemore was convicted on charges of first-degree rape, first-degree unlawful sexual penetration and second-degree sexual abuse, though he was found not guilty on a second count of second-degree sexual abuse.</p>
<p>The 32-year-old McLemore, who pleaded not guilty on all four counts, has a sentencing hearing scheduled for next Wednesday.</p>
<p>The local district attorney's statement:</p>
<p>"We recognize there are those who fear individuals with celebrity status or a position of prominence can avoid prosecution. Not in Clackamas County. This case demonstrates my office prosecutes criminal acts regardless of the offender's community status," said District Attorney John Wentworth.</p>
<p>The incident in question occurred on Oct. 3, 2021 at a party at the home of McLemore's then-Blazers teammate Robert Covington. Prosecutors said the victim was "hammered unconscious drunk," to the point of vomiting and having difficulty walking. She reportedly passed out on a living room couch at 2 a.m.</p>
<p>McLemore allegedly began sleeping on the same couch and woke up the victim at 6 a.m. by penetrating her with his fingers then having sexual intercourse with her. The victim was reportedly still "fading in and out" of consciousness, but sought a specialized medical examination for victims of sexual assault later that day.</p>
<p>Ben McLemore was the seventh overall pick of the 2013 NBA Draft. (Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images) (Soobum Im via Getty Images)</p>
<p>In his defense, McLemore's legal team claimed the encounter was consensual, and that he was also even more drunk than the victim, via KGW:</p>
<p>Defense attorney Lisa Maxfield argued McLemore should be acquitted. "The only reasonable verdict in a case where two people get drunk and have sex and the man is drunker than the woman, the only reasonable verdict in a case like that is not guilty," said Maxfield.</p>
<p>McLemore was first arrested in April 2024, and promised the "truth will come to light" shortly after being released on bail.</p>
<p>The seventh overall pick of the 2013 NBA Draft, McLemore has not appeared in the NBA since the 2021-22 season. He played in the NBA for nine years, with stints on the Blazers, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings, the team that originally drafted him.</p>
<p>Since 2022, McLemore has played for teams in China, Greece, Spain and Turkey. He spent last season with Yukatel Merkezefendi while awaiting trial.</p>
Source: AOL Sports
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