Former NBA player Ben McLemore was sentenced to 100 months in Oregon state prison on Wednesday after recently being found guilty of sexually assaulting a then-21-year-old woman at a house party in the Portland suburb of Lake Oswego in 2021.
McLemore received the sentence after being found guilty last Thursday on one charge of first-degree rape, one charge of first-degree unlawful sexual penetration and one count of second-degree sexual abuse by a jury in Clackamas County.
McLemore was a player with the Portland Trail Blazers at the time. The 2021-22 season was his last one in the NBA.
McLemore, 32, didn’t address the court on Wednesday. He was wearing inmate clothing.
“Many people are often afraid to report this type of conduct for a number of reasons,” Clackamas County first assistant district attorney Scott Healy said in a statement. “Hopefully the victim’s strength and courage in this case will give others the fortitude to come forward in circumstances where sexual assault has occurred.
“The sentence the defendant received today should serve as a reminder that this type of conduct will not be tolerated in our community, and that the Clackamas County DA’s Office will always work hard to hold offenders accountable and provide justice to victims.”
The assault happened on Oct. 3, 2021, at the home of Robert Covington, a then-teammate of McLemore with Portland.
Healy told jurors that the victim passed out on a living room couch around 2 a.m. after drinking heavily. She gained partial consciousness around 6 a.m. when McLemore was penetrating her with his fingers and then began having sex with her.
McLemore’s attorneys claimed the woman initiated sexual contact and consented to it.
The woman appeared by video at the sentencing hearing and read a statement.
“This has been the longest almost four years of my life,” she said. “I never imagined that reporting this back in 2021 would lead to such an incredibly difficult and long journey. These last few years have often felt like a weight that I’ve had to drag behind me, a constant reminder of the trauma that I haven’t been able to fully work through because there was no ending in sight. I now understand, on a deep level, why so many victims hesitate or never report what happened to them.”
Kristen Winemiller, the attorney for McLemore, called for a more lenient penalty.
“We hope the Oregon Legislature will adopt a ‘second look’ process that would evaluate whether he should serve the entire 100-month sentence or whether, beyond the short alcohol-influenced encounter that led to this conviction, he is a considerate and humble person who has lived an honorable, community-focused life,” Winemiller told ESPN.
McLemore was identified as a suspect after police investigated the sexual assault report.
The case went before a Clackamas County grand jury in February 2024, when the woman who accused McLemore of assault provided testimony. Per Lake Oswego police, the grand jury put out an arrest warrant for McLemore and also issued an indictment against him.
McLemore was arrested by U.S. Marshals in April 2024.
The No. 7 overall pick by the Sacramento Kings in the 2013 draft, McLemore also played with the Memphis Grizzlies, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers and the Trail Blazers before heading overseas to continue his career.
In 556 NBA games (268 starts), McLemore averaged 9.0 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. He played college basketball at Kansas.
–Field Level Media
Comments