Iowa student charged with threatening to kill Kobe's accuser

The Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- A University of Iowa student was charged with threatening to kill the woman accusing Kobe Bryant of sexual assault.

John William Roche, 22, was arrested Thursday afternoon for allegedly leaving a profanity-laced message on the accuser's answering machine July 27, according to a federal grand jury indictment.

Roche is charged with making a threatening telephone call across state lines. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The caller threatened to assault the Eagle, Colo., woman with a coat hanger and repeatedly said he would kill her, the indictment said. Authorities did not say how the call was traced to Roche.

A friend, Elliot Schwind, described Roche as a "sports fanatic" who had been drinking all day at a golf tournament when he allegedly made the call.

Jeff Dorschner, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Denver, confirmed Bryant's accuser was the target but declined to comment further.

Roche appeared in federal court in Rock Island, Ill., late Thursday where he posted bond and was released, Dorschner said. He was ordered to appear Sept. 2 in U.S. District Court in Denver.

Bryant, 24, is charged with sexually assaulting a 19-year-old resort employee near Vail, Colo., on June 30. The Los Angeles Lakers star has said the sex was consensual.