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Former NBA first-round pick Ben McLemore has been sentenced to more than eight years in an Oregon state prison after being found guilty of rape and sexual assault.
McLemore has been ordered to serve 100 months on a first-degree rape charge, a first-degree unlawful sexual penetration charge, and a count of second-degree sexual abuse.
A jury did not find him guilty on another count of second-degree sexual abuse.
McLemore, aged 32, has not played in the NBA since 2022, having last played for the Portland Trail Blazers.
Additionally, he suited up for the Sacramento Kings (who drafted him seventh-overall in 2013), the Memphis Grizzlies, the Houston Rockets, and the Los Angeles Lakers throughout his career.
McLemore pled not guilty to all four counts he faced and did not address the court as he was sentenced.
'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.'
McLemore's charges stem from a reported sexual assault in Lake Oswego, Oregon on October 3, 2021 - with the incident taking place at the home of one of McLemore's Trail Blazers teammates, Robert Covington.
Police investigated the incident and eventually identified McLemore as a suspect.
A grand jury in Clackamas County heard evidence in this case back in February of 2024. This included testimony from the woman who claimed McLemore assaulted her.
The court issued an indictment against McLemore and an arrest warrant. McLemore was eventually arrested by federal Marshals two months later.
Prosecutors told jurors that the victim had been drinking heavily and passed out on a living room couch around 2:00 in the morning. She partially regained consciousness the following morning when McLemore sexually penetrated her with his fingers, then had sex with her.
'This has been the longest almost four years of my life. I never imagined that reporting this back in 2021 would lead to such an incredibly difficult and long journey,' the victim told jurors on Wednesday in a video statement.
'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.'
McLemore's attorneys disputed her account while claiming that she was the one to initiate sexual contact - and that she consented to it. They also argued that she was sober enough to consent, despite both her and McLemore being intoxicated.
'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,' McLemore's attorney Kristen Winemiller told ESPN on Wednesday.
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