http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/2895425 A daughter who is accusing former Houston Rockets star Calvin Murphy of sexual abuse acknowledged in court Wednesday that she has periodically lied and made conflicting statements about the allegations. The 23-year-old woman said she initially gave false statements to authorities in March when she denied the abuse because she was living with her father and depending on him to support her. "I just came up with a story that I thought would help my father and would help myself and my son. I had nowhere else to go," she testified. Murphy, 56, is accused of molesting five of his daughters in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when they ranged from 6 to 13. He is facing three counts each of indecency with a child and aggravated sexual assault. If convicted, the former National Basketball Association All-Star and TV commentator could face a sentence ranging from probation to life in prison. Murphy has 14 children by nine women. The five daughters accusing him were born to three women Murphy never married. Murphy says the daughters are lying, seeking money and revenge for not treating them as well as the three children born to his ex-wife, Vernetta Murphy, according to his attorneys. The 23-year-old daughter initially complained to authorities in her home state of Connecticut in 1995 but later recanted. During an investigation earlier this year, she first denied the abuse but then agreed to testify against Murphy. She had told jurors Tuesday that Murphy repeatedly fondled and performed oral sex on her when she was between 10 and 13. Also Wednesday, jurors heard brief testimony from a Connecticut social worker who filed the 1995 sexual abuse complaint after talking with the daughter, then a middle school student. The girl's complaint was "believable," said the social worker, Rondi Olson of Norwalk, Conn. The social worker also said police and child-protective workers in Norwalk — Murphy's hometown, where he is celebrated as a sports legend — failed to follow up on the complaint because of Murphy's celebrity. andrew.tilghman@chron.com
I have always like Calvin but I never knew he had 14 kids from 9 different ladies. There is no excuse for that kind **** and he trys to be a role model in the community, I bet if more people knew of this they would think differently about him. By the way didn't "Bob" Horry get one of Calvin's many daugthers pregnant back in the day? I do hope Calvin is innocent, but I have a different view of him now. Just my 2 cents...OUT
Uh I think you guys mis-interpreted the article, I think she is sayying she lied about him not doin n e thing
Correct. But, contradicting herself does weaken her testimony. I'm rooting for Calvin, but man, these are horrible charges. Nothing to do but let the jury decide.
14 kids from 9 women. Wow. You think one would learn after say 7 kids from 4 women. Maybe he had trouble finding the right size condoms.
Yes he did. My boy used to talk to one of his daughters back in high school. From what I've heard a few of his daughters look pretty good.
I've been wondering for years how good that kid is going to be. i think they had a son. Since men taker after their mother's father then he could have deadly range, and he might be taller then murph since robert is his father. that kid is gonna sick. it's in his blood to be a stud
Why does it matter how many kids a man have? Why should you judge him because he has kids by different women? Cause society says it's wrong? People judge too much and too quick. It's your personal opinion and you have a right, but I know him personally.....he is one of the greatest people I know and I wish him well through all of this. I also know two of the daughters that's accusing him and know that they have some "character issues" stripping...drugs... I'm not the type to judge, so I'll wait till justice is served. I hope everything turns out for the best for him and his family.
Well, it isn't any surprise when people who were sexually abused as a child have "character issues" later in life, so I don't think we can jump to any conclusions based on that. I always thougth the timing of the charges was a little odd, since it cam so soon after the award of the insurance money the kids were supposedly trying to get. So knowing that a charge was actually made against him in 1995 makes the allegations seem more credible to me. I hope he didn't do it. I miss him.
Whether Calvin is found guilty or not, his public image will be permanently damaged after this, with all the dirty laundry being aired and all. Id be shocked if the Rockets brought him back even if hes found not guilty.
An interesting angle... Calvin's ex-wife died and left Calvin $50,000. The girls believed they were supposed to inherit it. Rusty Hardin (Calvin's lawyer) has a good question: why did they wait to make these accusations until AFTER they learned that Calvin was trying to collect the inheritance? hmmm..... -- droxford
I think you answer your own question later in your post. It's tough being a father when you've spread your seed so thin, and it seems the type of people you've mentioned below are often products of fatherless environments. I also believe Calvin's got some "character issues" with the way he conducted his life but that's just me. None this goes towards innocence or guilt though.
I would love to believe Calvin is innocent. I don't know the man, but growing up as a Rockets fan I feel like I do. He was someone who was always around, smiling and making jokes. When these allegations were made against him I felt like they were made against a member of my family. however, the character issues these girls are alleged to possess aren't all that far off from those found in every person I've ever known to suffer sexual abuse. (and I've known dozens) This doesn't mean sexual abuse is the cause of those character issues, but it very well could be. I certainly would hope it's nothing more than coincidence, but I also agree that when you have 14 children by 9 mothers it's obvious many of your children aren't going to recieve the attention and guidance from their father that each child should have a right to. I'd be the last person to condemn a man for his sexual indescretions. I'm not religious and have no religious ideas about sex. I'm rather promiscuious myself, however, I've been responsible about my sexual encounters and have no children to speak of, much less fourteen. I honestly don't see how anybody could try to describe that as anything less than irresponsible. The problem isn't even 14 children so much as it is the 9 different mothers. 14 children with a single mother would be demanding as all hell, how could ANYONE be as supportive of their children as those children deserve when they number so many and are spread among so many mothers across such a great distance? I suppose my point is that while I desperately hope that Calvin is innocent and proven so, I think it's hard to refute that even should he be proven innocent, we've all learned he's further from sainthood than most. Let's just hope he isn't an absolute monster, as he certainly is if he is guilty of these charges.
Do you think a simple condom could contain the Pocket Rocket?!? Seriously, guilty or not of this particular crime, he's looking pretty bad. He's an unfaitful husband, irresponsible about birth control, an absentee father, apparently a terrible steward of his own money, and either too greedy or too dumb to let $50,000 go. He was the named beneficiary of the money (though falsely listed as a husband), but the just thing would have been to allow that money to go to the support of the woman's now grown daughters. It doesn't say good things that he was fighting to get the money in the first place. I'm sure he's a great guy, but he has his flaws. And I don't think his defense is a winner. According to the Chron today, they started bringing the charges before the money issue had been settled. The DA didn't bring charges until after it was settled, but that's his doing, not theirs. And, even if the charges were retaliatory in nature doesn't mean he isn't still guilty of the crimes. It could very easily be the case that the women were willing to not prosecute (as many sex abuse victims are), but were essentially goaded into it by his selfish behavior. If he committed the crime, you should convict, even if the charges were brought vengefully.
