http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-07-24-victim-misidentified_x.htm


Web sites post photo of wrong woman in Kobe Bryant case
EAGLE, Colo. (AP) — The family of a young woman wrongly identified on the Internet as Kobe Bryant's accuser has hired an attorney in hopes of stopping her image from being circulated online.
Attorney Sienna LaRene said the parents, Bob and Beth Matthews of Eagle, aren't looking for financial damages.

"They just want this to stop," LaRene said Wednesday. "This is a wildfire out of control, and the only way to stop it is people to do the right and responsible thing."

LaRene said she has sent "cease and desist" letters to several Web sites, asking them to stop using the woman's picture. If sites don't comply, she said she will get court orders and did not rule out libel lawsuits.

There are similarities between the woman and the alleged victim, who has accused the Los Angeles Lakers star of sexually assaulting her at a Colorado resort June 30. Bryant has been charged with felony assault, but says the sex was consensual.

Both women are 19, have the same first name and attended Eagle County High School. While the young woman in the Bryant case was a cheerleader, the other woman was on the school's dance squad.

"Somebody put two and two together — these intersections of similarities — and came up with five," LaRene said.

Early on, there were two pictures, one of the woman's dance team and another with her standing next to a young man at a dress-up event. Also posted was the name, address, phone number and e-mail of the alleged victim in the Bryant case.

Since then, some Web sites have altered photos to put the wrong woman's face on nude bodies, she said, and others have attached text calling her every combination of profanity imaginable.

"The young woman is suffering. She's mortified and the family is under a great deal of stress," LaRene said. "They're using this girl's photograph and it's causing injury."

Terra Lycos said Thursday that the Bryant case is one of the most popular online search topics in its history. Only the Sept. 11 attacks, the Iraq war and the 2000 presidential election have drawn more interest, the Internet network said.