DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - The woman accusing Kristaps Porzingis of rape later sent the Mavericks' big man explicit pictures of herself and sought the help of the New York Knicks' legal department for cash, according to a new report from ESPN.
The report says the woman contacted the Knicks eight months after the alleged incident, and before she filed a report with New York police.
The unnamed woman wanted to "mediate in private" a payment of $68,000, according to her emails and text messages that were obtained by ESPN. The messages also portray a woman who wanted to pursue a romantic relationship with Porzingis after the alleged assault took place in his apartment. The accuser also claims that Porzingis agreed to contribute the $68,000 to a college fund for her brother and has a document signed by the player as proof.
In a statement to ESPN, Porzingis' attorney said he believes the document is a fake.
"Mr. Porzingis denies signing the alleged contract, which we believe is a forgery. When asked to produce the original contract for handwriting analysis, the complainant declined to do so," Roland G. Riopelle said.
A copy of the handwritten document obtained by ESPN has Porzingis' name misspelled and it's unknown if the signature on it is actually his.
"This agreement effective February 7, 2018, acknowledges the fact that an unexpected escalated sexual intercourse due to an inevitable physical attraction on the part of Kristap (sic) occurred subsequently, warrants compensation payable towards (the woman's) siblings college tuition in the amount of $68,000," the woman wrote in the alleged agreement.
" ... Mr. Kristap (sic) willingly offered several compensations to (the woman) including business investments. (The woman) ultimately settled with Mr. Kristap's (sic) offer of a $68,000 check."
Riopelle had previously said that the claim against Porzingis was part of an extortion attempt that is being investigated by the FBI. However, NYPD sources close to the New York Post have said the accuser is "believable."
Riopelle later said in a statement, via ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, that they were in touch with the New York County District Attorney's Office.
Kristaps Porzingis' attorney Roland G. Riopelle tells ESPN: "We have been contacted by (New York County) the District Attorney's office and we are cooperating fully with their investigation. We have agreed to provide the District Attorney's Office with the materials..." (more)
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 1, 2019More from Riopelle: "...that we previously provided to the federal authorities in support of our extortion complaint. We are confident that, after the District Attorney reviews these materials, they will recognize that the complaint made in this case is completely meritless." https://t.co/lUfR4RUnrL
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 1, 2019In an email sent to the Knicks, the accuser said she stayed with Porzingis from the alleged 2 a.m. rape until 11 a.m. and "enjoyed the rest of the time I spent with him." In the weeks following the alleged incident, ESPN says the woman included explicit photos of herself in some of the messages she sent when asking to spend intimate time with Porzingis. It remains unclear if the two carried on a sexual relationship after the alleged rape or how much further correspondence they had with each other.
The woman also sent the Knicks a photo she says shows hair loss and broken nose cartilage "from when he repeatedly hit me." She says she was forced to spend around $10,000 to fix her injuries.
Additional texts show that the woman became increasingly upset after Porzingis was friendly when they saw each other in the apartment building where they both lived, but became less responsive to her text messages.
It remains unclear whether or not the Mavericks had any knowledge about the alleged incident prior to trading for him on January 31.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that New York informed Dallas of the rape allegation made against Porzingis. However, Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News reported Sunday that two league sources told him that in discussions with the Knicks the word 'rape' was never used.
"The word that was used was 'extortion,' " one of the sources said.
When contacted by the New York Post about the alleged incident, owner Mark Cuban said: "we have been instructed by federal authorities not to comment."
Ahead of yesterday's win over the Thunder in Oklahoma City, coach Rick Carlisle said he "had no knowledge of any of that," and couldn't comment on it when asked about the allegations.
Smartest legal minds I know suggesting to me that #Porzingis side may have been advised by FBI to record rape accuser's exchanges .. a 'sting' of sorts to establish truth of their relationship & her intentions. #Mavs @1053thefan pic.twitter.com/B4s6CzpbJH
— mike fisher ✭ (@fishsports) April 1, 2019105.3 The Fan's Mike Fisher suggested Monday (via "smart legal minds") that the FBI may have advised Porzingis to record the woman's exchanges to establish the truth of their relationship and her intentions.
