Ex-NBA Player Ben McLemore Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison for Rape

The sentence followed Thursday’s guilty verdict.

Ben McLemore, seen warming up for a game in 2022, will serve eight years in prison. / Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

Ben McLemore, a former forward and guard for Kansas and five NBA teams, will serve eight years in prison for raping and sexually assaulting a 21-year-old woman in 2021.

Judge Michael C. Wetzel of Clackamas County, Ore., handed down the sentence Wednesday, following a guilty finding against McLemore last Thursday on one count of first-degree rape, one count of first-degree unlawful sexual penetration, and one count of second-degree sexual abuse. He was also found not guilty of a second count of second-degree sexual abuse.

"We recognize there are those who fear individuals with celebrity status or a position of prominence can avoid prosecution. Not in Clackamas County. This case demonstrates my office prosecutes criminal acts regardless of the offender's community status," John Wentworth, the county's district attorney, said in a government statement.

During McLemore's trial, prosecutors said he sexually penetrated the partially conscious victim the morning after a 2021 party at the Lake Oswego, Ore., home of his then-Trail Blazers teammate Robert Covington.

"I strive to live with kindness, to be gentle and show up for my people," McLemore said in a statement via Baxter Holmes of ESPN. "I care deeply about those around me. And, even in this dark moment, I believe in the power of grace and redemption. I believe in second chances, and will work work every day to earn mine."

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