Louisville men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino told police he had sex in a restaurant six years ago with a woman now accused of trying to extort millions of dollars from him. And when she told him two weeks later she was pregnant, he gave her $3,000 for an abortion.
The Courier-Journal of Louisville reported on its Web site Tuesday that Pitino told police he had been drinking in a Louisville restaurant and had consensual sex with Karen Sypher in August 2003. The police report said the 56-year-old coach denied Sypher’s allegations that he raped her after the restaurant closed and at another time somewhere else.
Sypher reported the rape allegations to police last month, but a Kentucky prosecutor said the complaint wouldn’t be prosecuted because it lacked supporting evidence. Sypher, 49, has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of lying to the FBI and trying to extort $10 million from Pitino, who is married.
― velko, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 08:18 (sixteen years ago)
Pitino told police he had been drinking at an upscale Louisville restaurant called Porcini in August 2003 when Sypher approached him and asked the coach to call her sons with words of encouragement. The coach obliged, he said.
Later that night, after the restaurant cleared out, the owner left Pitino his keys and they had sex at a table near the bar, according to statements by both Pitino and Sypher.
She said Pitino forced himself on her. But the 56-year-old coach denied Sypher's allegations that he raped her that night, and again several weeks later, saying she came on to him.
The two apparently weren't alone in the restaurant: The police documents, first reported by The Courier-Journal of Louisville, says a Pitino assistant was there during the encounter. The former executive assistant, Vinnie Tatum, said he heard "only the sounds of two people that seemed to be enjoying themselves during a sexual encounter," according to a statement he gave the FBI that was included in the police report.
Sypher reported the rape allegations to police last month, but Kentucky authorities said there wasn't enough evidence to prosecute. Sypher, 49, has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of lying to the FBI and trying to extort $10 million from Pitino.
Sypher's attorney, James Earhart, said Wednesday morning that he hadn't yet talked to Sypher about the release of the police documents.
Pitino told police that about two weeks after he met Sypher, she called to say she was pregnant and that he had to be the father.
According to the report by Sgt. Andy Abbott, commander of the Metro Louisville Police sex-offense unit, Pitino later suggested that the two meet at the condo of the team's equipment manager, Tim Sypher. She alleges the second assault took place at the condo, but Abbott said records indicate that Pitino was in California at the time.
Karen Sypher, who later married Tim Sypher, first met the manager that day.
Pitino said Karen Sypher told him she was going to have an abortion but didn't have health insurance, so he gave her $3,000, according to the report. She told police the procedure was done in Cincinnati.
Pitino's lawyer, Steve Pence, told The Associated Press that the coach believed the money was for insurance, not an abortion. Pence said Pitino asked Sypher how much the insurance would cost and she told him $3,000.
"The way this has been reported in the media is not accurate," Pence said. "The coach has not done anything illegal."
Despite Ramsey's surprise at the new details, the school's athletic director, Tom Jurich, said in a statement that "Coach Pitino has been truthful with us about this matter all along and we stand by him and his family during this process."
If Pitino wasn't forthcoming with his employer, the consequences could be more severe than negative headlines.
His contract, which runs through 2013, lists as possible causes for termination: "Employee's dishonesty with Employer or University; or acts of moral depravity," as well as "disparaging media publicity of a material nature that damages the good name and reputation of Employer or University."
Pitino is a dedicated Roman Catholic who has brought a priest who's a close friend and spiritual adviser on team trips.
Abbott asked Sypher during one interview why she waited until after she was indicted to report the rape allegations.
She gave varying answers, according to transcripts, saying she wanted to forget about it, that Pitino threatened her and finally that "they kept throwing crumbs to keep me happy."
Abbott asked Sypher why she was coming forward only after she was charged.
"Because ... where we are, it seems like retaliation," Abbott said.
"I know it does," Sypher responded.
Tatum, the former executive assistant to Pitino, told the FBI he was in the restaurant during the first encounter but he didn't see anything. A message Wednesday for Tatum at his office in the university's basketball practice facility was not immediately returned.
― velko, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 19:25 (sixteen years ago)