A jury in Clackamas County, Oregon , on Thursday found former NBA player Ben McLemore guilty of raping a woman while he was playing for...
A jury in Clackamas County, Oregon, on Thursday found former NBA player Ben McLemore guilty of raping a woman while he was playing for the Portland Trail Blazers in 2021.
Court officials confirmed that the 32-year-old was convicted of first-degree rape, first-degree unlawful sexual penetration, and second-degree sexual abuse following nearly 10 hours of jury deliberation after an 11-day trial. He was acquitted on a separate count of second-degree sexual abuse.
McLemore, who pleaded not guilty to all four counts, is scheduled to be sentenced at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 9.
According to Lake Oswego Police, the charges stem from an incident on October 3, 2021, when a woman reported she had been sexually assaulted after a party in the area. Investigators later identified McLemore as the suspect.
Prosecutor Scott Healy, during trial proceedings, told the jury that the woman was partially conscious when McLemore assaulted her. Healy said:
“She had been drinking heavily at the party, passed out on a couch, and woke up to find herself being sexually assaulted.”
Healy emphasized that the victim could not give consent due to her impaired state.
McLemore’s defense team, however, disputed the prosecution’s narrative, arguing that the woman had initiated and consented to sex with McLemore. The defense further claimed that despite both parties being intoxicated, the woman was sober enough to give consent.
A grand jury in Clackamas County reviewed the case in February 2024, hearing testimony from the victim and other witnesses. The grand jury issued an indictment, prompting an arrest warrant. U.S. Marshals arrested McLemore two months later.
McLemore, the 7th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft out of Kansas, played for five NBA teams over nine seasons, including the Houston Rockets from 2019 to 2021. He spent the 2021–2022 season with the Portland Trail Blazers and has since played overseas in China, Greece, Spain, and Turkey.
Neither McLemore nor his legal team have issued a public statement following the verdict.
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