PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — A former Portland Trail Blazer will spend eight years in prison for raping a woman at a Lake Oswego party.
READ MORE | Jury finds former Portland Trail Blazer McLemore guilty of raping woman
Ben McLemore was found guilty on Thursday, July 3, in a Clackamas County courtroom. He was found guilty of rape and sexual abuse of a woman at the home of former Blazer Robert Covington in October 2021.
The trial lasted more than two weeks. Covington and another former Blazer testified in the case.
The victim, then 21 years old, spoke via video during McLemore’s sentencing.
“This has been the longest almost four years of my life. I never imagined that reporting this back in 2021 would lead to such an incredibly difficult and long journey,” she said. “I came forward to hold him accountable for the harm he caused, to ensure that what happened to me never happens to anyone else.”
McLemore played for the Portland Trail Blazers for just one season.