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Former Portland Trail Blazer Ben McLemore was sentenced to 100 months in prison on Wednesday following his conviction for rape and other sex crimes.
McLemore did not make a statement prior to being sentenced by Clackamas County Presiding Judge Michael C. Wetzel.
A jury found McLemore guilty last week of Rape in the First Degree, Unlawful Sexual Penetration in the First Degree and Sexual Abuse in the Second Degree. The rape occurred at a Lake Oswego party in October 2021. The victim, then 21, was heavily intoxicated and incapacitated when McLemore assaulted her.
The victim addressed the court via video.
“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.
“These last few years have often felt like a weight that I’ve had to drag behind me, a constant reminder of the trauma that I haven’t been able to fully work through because there was no ending in sight.”
“At the time of the assault, I had no idea who Mr. McLemore was. When I found out … I questioned whether I should really move forward and report what had happened, especially given his status.”
“I came forward to hold him accountable for the harm he caused, to ensure that what happened to me never happens to anyone else.”
“No one is above the law, no matter who they are or what position they hold,” the victim said.
“Hopefully, the victim’s strength and courage in this case will give others the fortitude to come forward in circumstances where sexual assault has occurred,” said First Assistant District Attorney Scott Healy.
“The sentence the defendant received today should serve as a reminder that this type of conduct will not be tolerated in our community, and that the Clackamas County DA’s Office will always work hard to hold offenders accountable and provide justice to victims,” Healy said.
Original media release from July 3, 2025:
Former Portland Trail Blazer Ben McLemore convicted of rape, sexual assault
A Clackamas County jury found former Portland Trail Blazer Ben McLemore guilty Thursday of raping and sexually assaulting a 21-year-old woman in 2021.
McLemore, 32, was convicted in Clackamas County Circuit Court of Rape in the First Degree, Unlawful Sexual Penetration in the First Degree and Sexual Abuse in the Second Degree. He will be sentenced at 9:30 a.m. on July 9.
"We recognize there are those who fear individuals with celebrity status or a position of prominence can avoid prosecution. Not in Clackamas County. This case demonstrates my office prosecutes criminal acts regardless of the offender's community status," said District Attorney John Wentworth.
The sexual assault occurred on October 3, 2021, after a party at the Lake Oswego home of Robert Covington, another former Trail Blazer. Covington and McLemore were teammates at the time.
The victim had been drinking heavily and was "hammered unconscious drunk" that night, prosecutor Scott Healy told jurors. It's the most alcohol the woman ever had to drink in her life and the most intoxicated she's ever been, Healy said.
The victim vomited earlier in the evening and witnesses said she had difficulty walking, slurred speech and could barely lift her head, Healy said.
The victim passed out on a large living room couch around 2 a.m. Sometime later McLemore later began sleeping on the same couch.
Around 6 a.m., the victim regained partial consciousness when McLemore sexually penetrated her with his fingers then began having sexual intercourse with her.
The victim was "fading in and out" of consciousness, frightened and traumatized, Healy said. Later that day she sought a specialized medical examination for victims of sexual assault.
"(The defendant) needs to be held accountable for what he did. You can't do that to somebody, let alone somebody that you don't know either. You don't do that to people and just be able to get away with it. I don't care who you are," the victim said during her trial testimony.
Defense attorneys for McLemore disputed the victim's account of events. They claimed she initiated sexual contact and consented to it.
McLemore's attorneys asserted that although the victim and McLemore were both intoxicated and at the time of the encounter, the victim was sober enough to consent.
Ben McLemore
First Assistant District Attorney Scott Healy and Deputy District Attorney Randi Hall prosecuted the case.
Clackamas County Circuit Court case 24CR10855