Is Kobe guilty or not?

If convicted of the charge of sexual assault on a 19-year-old "emotionally fragile" blond college student, Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant will face a jail term ranging from four years to life. He’ll also pay a $750,000 fine but the money is insignificant, considering the 25-year-old National Basketball Association (NBA) guard earned $12.5 Million on his six-year $71 Million contract last season and raked in an additional $13 Million, at least, as an endorser for a wide range of products.

Bryant’s accuser hasn’t been named in newspapers. But it’s widely known that she’s Katelyn Kristine Faber of Eagle, a small mountain town 100 miles west of Denver with a population of only 3,700. Faber is a University of North Colorado freshman who last February, overdosed in a suicide attempt after the death of a close friend and a breakup with her boyfriend for dating another girl. She was rushed to a hospital and saved.

In the internet, curious browsers can access various websites for a picture of Faber in a printed blue shirt and blue denim jeans. She’s definitely not Hollywood star material. Michael Jordan wouldn’t fall for her. She looks like a plain Jane–someone who wouldn’t make heads turn. Her face is shaped like a diamond–which probably attracted Bryant. We all know Bryant’s seven-month-old daughter is named Natalia Diamante and he bought his Hispanic wife Vanessa Laine an eight-carat, $4 Million purple diamond as a peace offering after confessing to a one-night stand of "consensual sex" with Faber.

According to Jim Nolan of Knight Ridder, Bryant’s rock is bigger than the six-carat pink diamond that Ben Affleck gave J-Lo when they got engaged. Of course, nothing beats the 33-carat stunner that Richard Burton slipped on Liz Taylor’s finger when he became her third husband. Nolan said colored diamonds are extremely rare–one out of every 10,000 colorless diamonds. Black is the most common of the rarities and red, the rarest of the rare.

Believe it or not, that diamond ring is worth about as much as Bryant’s 6,376-square foot Mediterranean-style mansion he bought from Dennis Rodman’s former agent Dwight Manley in the exclusive Ocean Ridge area in Newport Coast, California, last year. The value doesn’t include the staggering cost of the wheels in Bryant’s dream-like garage, which is home to a black Mercedes S600, a black Ferrari, a black Bentley and a Land Rover.

Faber, a former varsity cheerleader and school chorus singer, dreams to be rich and famous. Taking Bryant to court could be her ticket to fame or infamy. In high school, she was the obsessed fan of Conrad Birdie in the stage play "Bye Bye Birdie" and once drove more than 1,200 miles to Austin, Texas, to sing the Rebecca Lynn Howard country tune "Forgive" in the TV contest "American Idol." She made it to the second round of the competitions before exiting.

Faber, one of three children, lives in a two-storey house with a basketball hoop in the driveway. Her father Paul is a retired phone company employee and her mother works in an elementary school.

Three days before charges were filed against Bryant, Faber reportedly bragged about her "conquest" and described to friends Bryant’s anatomy and private parts.

What really happened between Bryant and Faber?

Bryant checked in at the four-star, 56-room exclusive Cordillera Lodge and Spa resort with three bodyguards, two of whom are licensed to carry firearms last June 30. He stayed in a $600-a-night suite up to July 2. On July 1, Bryant underwent arthroscopic right knee surgery at the Steadman-Hawkins Clinic in nearby Vail, Colorado.

At around 10 p.m. on June 30, Faber entered Bryant’s suite. One version claimed Faber, a concierge, toured Bryant around the resort and was invited to his suite. Another version was she went to Bryant’s suite to make a delivery–like room service. Clearly, something happened in the suite. Faber insisted Bryant went "crazy" and forced himself on her. Bryant said they had sex, which he has regretted in public.

Bryant and his wife were married at St. Edward Roman Catholic Church in Dana Point two years ago. They met in 1999 during the filming of a music video. There is no record of Bryant ever h½urting or assaulting former girlfriends Jameika Williams and Jocelyn Ebron. He once dated the singer Brandy at his high school senior prom.

Unlike other NBA stars who live on the fast lane, Bryant is laid-back and quiet. He usually sits at the back of the Lakers chartered team bus and keeps to himself, listening to music on a discman, or watching a movie on his personal DVD player or talking in hushed tones with his wife on a cell phone.

Now, Eagle County case No. O3CR204 hangs over his head like a sword of Damocles.

"I didn’t force her to do anything against her will," said Bryant in a press conference with his wife sitting beside him, hand in hand. "I sit here in front of you guys furious at myself, disgusted at myself for making a mistake of adultery. I’m a human being. I’m a man like everybody else. I mourn, I cry, just like everybody else."

Bryant has never been a troublemaker. His only brush with the law was driving 58 in a 35 miles per hour zone. In the NBA, he has elbowed Chris Childs and punched Reggie Miller and once grappled with Samaki Walker in the team bus. He was never out of control, never inordinately violent.

Faber will be represented in court by Eagle County district attorney Mark Hurlbert, 34, while Bryant’s defenders are Pamela Mackey and Hal Haddon of the high-powered Denver firm Haddon, Morgan, Mueller, Jordan, Mackey and Foreman. Hurlbert, a virtual novice, has prosecuted two first degree murder and several sexual assault cases. Bryant’s lawyers defended Colorado goalie Patrick Roy against domestic abuse charges and Hunter Thompson against drug possession charges.

In dissecting the case, writer Neil Hayes reminded the public that the jury is still out on both Bryant and Faber.

"Kobe is guilty of adultery and nothing more," said Hayes. "For all we know, his accuser is hoping to land a role in a sitcom and write a best-selling tell-all book. He deserves the benefit of the doubt until the jury renders a verdict. His accuser is neither rich nor famous. She has never won an NBA title, let alone three. But until the evidence has been presented, she deserves the same."

Sports marketing executive Alan Brown said: "The smartest thing Bryant did was say he cheated on his wife. That took care of all that other stuff. I think all of this is going to fade into the wind."

Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain and Magic Johnson admitted to indiscretions, too, during their NBA careers. But they never lost their glow as basketball superstars. It’s all about being human, rising from a fall, facing up to what you’ve done and asking for forgiveness.