The Los Angeles Police Department is actively investigating Derrick Rose over sexual-assault allegations
A civil trial against New York Knicks point guard and 2010-11 MVP Derrick Rose and his two friends for an alleged gang rape in 2013 will begin on October 4, the same day as the Knick's first preseason game.
And on Monday, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to multiple outlets that a criminal investigation against Rose is also ongoing.
The news of an active criminal investigation against Rose comes as a result of a motion filed on Sunday by the lawyers of the woman suing Rose. The motion argued that she should be able to keep her anonymity throughout the duration of the trial because of the fact that the criminal investigation is still underway. (Her lawyers also argued in favor of anonymity because she has been subject of online harassment from some of Rose's fans.) In their motion, they cited a letter from LAPD detective Nadine Hernandez, who confirmed the criminal investigation.
Last week, the judge presiding over the civil trial ruled that the plaintiff could not go by Jane Doe during the trial because it could be interpreted to a jury that the court was unfairly partial toward the defendant. The motion on Sunday was an attempt to reverse this decision prior to October 4.
A primer on the Rose civil trial
In August 2015, a woman referred to in legal documents Jane Doe accused Rose and his two friends, Randall Hampton and Ryan Allen, of drugging her at a party at Rose's house in Los Angeles, trespassing into her apartment, and gang raping her while she was unconscious on the night of August 27, 2013.
The woman is seeking $21.5 million in damages.
Rose and Doe agree on very little from the night of the alleged gang rape, according to court documents. What is agreed on:
- Rose and Doe dated non-exclusively for two years, and were broken up when Doe and her friend attended a party at Rose's house in Los Angeles.
- Doe left Rose's house at around midnight. Later that night, Rose and his two friends arrived at her apartment and had sex with her.
What the two sides disagree on:
- Whether Doe was drunk.
- Whether the three men broke into her apartment.
- Whether Doe consented to having sex with all three men.
According to Rose's deposition, he had asked Doe on several separate occasions to have group sex. She always said no, and this played a role in their breakup.
In Rose's deposition, he claimed to have put his used condom back in its wrapper after having sex with Doe. He also said he did not know the definition of the word "consent."
In June 2016, Rose's lawyers filed a motion for a Summary Judgment, in which they said the case should be thrown out. This motion was denied after the judge concluded there was "a genuine dispute of material fact as to the central issue in this action: whether Plaintiff consented to sexual intercourse with Defendants in early morning of August 27, 2013."
In arguing that Doe's name should be made public during the trial, Rose's lawyers have said Doe is seeking to take advantage of Rose's wealth and celebrity.
"This is not a rape case. It's pure and simple extortion by a plaintiff who wants to hide behind the cloak of anonymity while seeking millions in damages from a celebrity with whom she was in a long-term nonexclusive consensual sexual relationship."
Rose's lawyers also cited Doe as portraying herself as "sexual" and for posting photos to social media that are "sexual in nature" as reasons to reveal her identity.
From the court's ruling regarding her anonymity:
"Of special note, Plaintiff is publicly portraying herself as sexual. The production includes photos from Plaintiff's Instagram account that are sexual in nature. In these images, Plaintiff is dressed in provocative attire, is in sexually suggestive poses, and is in photographs indicating that she engages in sexually charged encounters with more than one man at a time. Plaintiff's use of twitter and other forms of social media further belies her apparent desire for anonymity."
Last week, Knicks team president Phil Jackson said that the team is "not concerned" with the civil trial against Rose.
"One thing I'd like to address about Derrick Rose and the process he's going through - we anticipate it will not affect his season, hopefully, training camp or games," Jackson told the New York Post. "We're going to let the due process of the justice system work its way through the next week and a half. We want to put this to rest. There doesn't need to be a lot of talk about this."
On September 14, Doe broke her silence for the first time when she gave an extended interview to ThinkProgress.
Court documents that are public can be found here.
The Knicks and Rose did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.