A week after being found guilty of raping a woman in 2021, former NBA guard Ben McLemore has been sentenced to 100 months (eight years and four months) in Oregon state prison, according to reports from Luisa Anderson of KGW News and Baxter Holmes of ESPN.
McLemore initially faced four criminal changes stemming from an incident that occurred at a Lake Oswego house party nearly five years ago. He was found guilty on one charge of first-degree rape, one charge of first-degree unlawful sexual penetration, and one count of second-degree sexual abuse, with the jury finding him not guilty on an additional count of second-degree sexual abuse.
The incident occurred in October 2021 at the home of Robert Covington, McLemore’s teammate on the Trail Blazers at the time. A grand jury heard the case in February 2024, including testimony from the woman who accused McLemore of assaulting her, which led to an indictment against him and a warrant for his arrest.
As Holmes outlines, the prosecution told jurors during the trial that the victim passed out on a living room couch at the party around 2:00 am, incapacitated due to heavy drinking, and regained partial consciousness the next morning when McLemore penetrated her with his fingers and began having sex with her.
McLemore’s attorneys disputed that version of events, claiming she initiated sexual contact and consented to it, and asserting that she was sober enough to give consent even though both she and McLemore were intoxicated.
McLemore, 32, was the seventh overall pick in the 2013 draft. He appeared in 556 regular season NBA games for the Kings, Grizzlies, Rockets, Lakers, and Blazers from 2013-22, averaging 9.0 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. He has been out of the league since his contract with Portland expired in 2022.
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