RAPE ALLEGATIONS

Pitino scandal new developments

08-13-2009 | AP

Panama Star KENTUCKY. The woman accused of trying to extort Louisville men's basketball coach Rick Pitino approached him in a restaurant six years ago, and the two had sex later that night, the coach told police.

Two weeks after they met, the married father of five gave her $3,000 after she said she needed an abortion and didn't have health insurance. Pitino told police he had been drinking at the restaurant and had consensual sex with Karen Sypher in August 2003 at a table near the bar. 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.

The university's president expressed surprise at new details in the scandal surrounding the coach, whose contract includes dishonesty and "moral depravity" as grounds for firing.

Sypher reported the rape allegations to police last month, but a Kentucky prosecutor said he lacked 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, who is married.