Basketball Rape Case Collapses

A sexual assault case against one of America's top basketball stars, Kobe Bryant, was suddenly dropped last night after the prosecution case crumbled.

Lawyers for Mr Bryant's accuser said they would continue to pursue a civil case against him, according to CNN, but legal experts said that any civil proceedings had been significantly undermined by the collapse of the criminal case.

Jeremy Toobin, a legal analyst for CNN, said the prosecution case " has been a fiasco and disaster ... you have to look at incompetence on the part of the prosecutors."

Mr Bryant was accused of sexually assaulting an employee of a Colorado hotel where he was a guest. The 26-year-old, who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, admitted having sex with the woman but said it was consensual. DNA evidence showed she had sex with another man soon after Mr Bryant.