Simone WilsonUpdate, July 18: As predicted, the D.A. has found that there is insufficient evidence to file rape charges against Doughty. The decision did take a little longer than expected, though — a month rather than a week.
Update: Doughty allegedly met his accuser at Sharkeez bar in Hermosa Beach. She tells police that the hockey star took her back to his extravagant pad and had sex with her against her will. Details at the bottom.
Not two weeks off his smashing Stanley Cup victory and celebratory parade, L.A. Kings defenseman Drew Doughty is getting some not-so-flattering headlines this afternoon.
The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office confirms to the Los Angeles Times that a rape accusation against Doughty is “under review.” The D.A. will decide whether to press charges later this week.
TMZ has more on the alleged victim's rape story:
Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, the woman in question filed a police report following the March 1st encounter — claiming she bumped into Doughty at a bar in Hermosa Beach early that morning, and he asked her to come back to his place.
We're told … the alleged victim told police she loudly rejected Doughty in front of his teammates — calling him an “a**hole” — and his teammates laughed.
Sources say the girl told police Doughty was embarrassed following the diss — then wrangled her into a cab, took her home, and raped her.
However, both the Times and TMZ say the D.A. is not likely to take up the case due to lack of evidence. (Then again, this information appears to come from Doughty's lawyer.)
Though originally from Canada, Doughty currently lives in a gorgeous beachside home in Hermosa Beach. In fact, a good lot of Kings players live in southern L.A. County's beach cities — and local hockey fans have gone into a state of euphoria during this Stanley Cup mayhem. We hear L.A. Kings tattoos are at an all-time high in the area.
We're about to speak with the Hermosa Beach Police Department. Updates to come.
Update, 4:45 p.m.: Hermosa Beach police Sgt. Robert Higgins tells us that the case against Doughty has indeed been sent over to the D.A.'s office for review. He stresses that it has “not been rejected yet,” but that “in cases like this, we pretty much automatically” let the D.A. decide.
The incident began at the pirate-themed Baja Sharkeez sports bar by the beach, according to Sgt. Higgins.
Sharkeez girls.; Credit: Chris Ponzi via The Place
He says surveillance video shows that “the beginning of the encounter occurred at the bar.” The victim alleges that Doughty then took her back to his home a few blocks away and had sex with her against her will.
However, there's no DNA evidence involved. Higgins calls it more “a question of consent,” which can come down to “he said, she said.”
It's not like Doughty was hiding in the bushes and leapt out to grab her, adds the sergeant.
Update, 5 p.m.: D.A. spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons confirms to LA Weekly that the office hopes to have Doughty's case reviewed “by the end of the week.”
Welcome to the world of big Hollywood sports, dude! From now on, if L.A. Kings players want to get their sexual deviancy on, they're going to have to be more NBA suave about it, less NHL neanderthal.
In a print story coming out later this week, LA Weekly reporter Paul Teetor will write about the team's Hermosa Beach kingdom:
With a replica of the huge, 35-pound Stanley Cup sitting on the front counter surrounded by six big-screen TV's that were religiously tuned to every Kings game this year, Hermosa Ink has emerged as the unofficial Kings headquarters in the South Bay, along with the North End Bar formerly known as Critters.
And, apparently, Sharkeez.
When we call the bar's front desk today, the guy who answers quickly hangs up on us when we ask if he noticed any such altercation around March 1. Looks like the Kings' local army will be backing them up through the worst of it.
[@simone_electra / swilson@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]
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