Teen who accused ex-NBA star Kevin Johnson of sexual abuse tells her story

Nearly 20 years ago, Phoenix Suns star Kevin Johnson faced allegations of molesting a 15-year-old girl, though charges never were filed after the teenager received a six-figure settlement to remain quiet.

Now, as an adult, Mandi Koba is speaking out against her alleged sexual abuser, the current mayor of Sacramento.

In a lengthy piece on Deadspin, Koba details how her relationship with Johnson began with him as a mentor, but quickly devolved into him using his influence and notoriety to take advantage of her through unwanted sexual advances, which included fondling while both were naked.

A police investigation deemed there was insufficient evidence to move forward — though Johnson is quoted in a police report saying, “[a] hug was more intimate than it should have been,” and Koba received more than $230,000 in exchange for never speaking about the alleged incidents other than to “a priest, a therapist, or a lawyer.”

“I’ve chosen to say what I want, fully aware of the consequences,” Koba told Deadspin.

“I just felt like I wasn’t doing anything but protecting him,” Koba said about keeping quiet. “Part of the way they got me to go along with the agreement was they told me it would protect me from his attorneys saying mean things about me. Well, I’m a grown-up now. They can say mean things about me if they want.”

Koba met Johnson during the taping of a TV commercial, and without a father figure in her life, the teenager was excited at the idea of having a player whose poster adorned the wall of her room fill that role. She said she was “intoxicated” by his celebrity and then “conned,” “accepting the unwanted touch of a grown man I trusted, believed in, thought believed in me. An adult mentoring me, grooming me, promising me the world if I would just trust, trust in him.”

When Koba called Johnson to confront him about her discomfort with what happened — which allegedly included the two showering together — the star guard unconvincingly told her about one incident, “I didn’t recall us being a hundred percent naked,” which was included in the police report.

In an interview with police, a detective told Koba, “I think [Johnson’s] taking advantage of you because of his celebrity status, and I think he’s probably taking advantage of other young people.”

Johnson, who was first elected as the mayor of his hometown in 2008, faced similar allegations from five students at his St. HOPE Academy in Sacramento, though charges were never filed. Koba said only one signed copy of their agreement exists, which sits in a safe deposit box in Arizona and cannot be taken out unless both parties’ attorneys are present. She said she expects Johnson to pursue legal action for violating any part of the settlement.

Koba, who has started a website for victims of sexual abuse, wrote an essay earlier this year on a website called The Unslut Project.

In it, she wrote:

“I’ve been called a sick slut in the media, a gold digger, an unreliable victim. I’ve had attorneys infer that the man who abused me had much more attractive women, options, so the idea that he’d sexually abuse me, a minor, was ludicrous. I’ve had my perpetrator — that’s what he is, a perpetrator, not someone who just made a mistake — held up as an example, a leader, a trusted advisor.

“I am every victim of sexual assault by a celebrity, a professional athlete, a politician, who has been silenced. I’ve been afraid to speak, come forward and tell my story. But no more. It’s time.”