SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Authorities are investigating
allegations that Sacramento Kings player Justin Williams sexually
assaulted a female acquaintance, a Sacramento Police Department
spokesman said Thursday.
Team spokesman Troy Hanson said Williams has been given an
indefinite leave of absence and returned to Sacramento from a road
trip to New Mexico to obtain a lawyer, a step recommended by team
officials.
Hanson would not say whether the team planned to suspend
Williams.
"We recently became aware of a complaint involving Justin
Williams that apparently is being investigated by the Sacramento
police," Hanson said. "We are currently in the process of
evaluating any additional information that becomes available to
us."
Criminal investigators searched Williams' home Wednesday night,
leaving with some items that police are evaluating, police Sgt.
Matt Young said during a news conference.
Williams, a reserve center, has not been charged and is
cooperating with officers, Young said.
"We are literally right in the middle of this investigation.
There is a lot to be done," he said. "It's important we don't
jump to any conclusions."
He added: "We are not going to rush anything."
Police launched the investigation after a local hospital advised
them last Friday that a patient had reported a sexual assault early
that morning. Young declined to describe the type of assault or
identify the woman except to say she is in her early 20s and was an
acquaintance of the Kings player.
Investigators have spoken with Williams by telephone, as well as
another person who was in the house at the time the assault
allegedly took place. Young declined to identify the third person.
Williams' agent, Byron Irvin, said he was informed of the search
but would not disclose details.
Williams' attorney, William Portanova, called the allegations
against his client "unfounded."
"We are confident that this investigation will conclude with an
official determination that Justin Williams committed no crime,"
Portanova said in a statement.
The 23-year-old Williams is entering his second season with the
Kings. He averaged five points in 26 games with the team last year.
He played his final two college seasons at Wyoming before
signing with the Kings as an undrafted free agent in the summer of
2006. He was cut during the team's 2006 training camp and played
with the Dakota Wizards of the NBA's Development League before
rejoining the Kings last January.