Woman Speaks Out About Alleged Sexual Abuse By Kevin Johnson, Two Decades Later

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A woman who said former NBA star and current Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson sexually abused her when she was a teenager is speaking out for the first time in two decades.

The accuser, Mandi Koba, was 15 at the time. She's now 36 and told Deadspin she kept quiet because she wasn't allowed to talk about it.

Koba, referred to in documents as "Kim Adams" says she met Johnson while he was playing the with the Phoenix Suns in 1995 when she played an extra in a TV commercial. She said he offered to become her mentor, and that's when she claims things escalated.

The article goes into detail about what Koba says the then-29-year-old Johnson did to her, including fondling, showering together and rubbing his genitals against her bare thigh.

Koba says Johnson made her "pinky promise" she wouldn't tell anyone. Eventually her therapist went to police.

Koba says Johnson cut off contact, but eventually agreed to pay her $230,600—she received an initial payment of $59,000, nearly $92,000 went into a trust, while the rest went to legal fees, her mom, and medical costs to treat her mental health.

The agreement, she says, was signed by her and Johnson, and it's in a safety deposit box in Arizona that can only be opened if she and his lawyer are there.

In exchange for the money, Johnson's accuser agreed to never mention Johnson again, "except to a priest, a therapist, or a lawyer."

Koba, who now lives in Virginia with her three children, told Deadspin she's speaking out now because, "I just felt like I wasn't doing anything but protecting him," and that she is "fully aware of the consequences."

Koba says she's followed Johnson's career in politics and is aware of other allegations brought by young girls at St. Hope, the school Johnson founded.

She told Deadspin, "For the longest time, I would feel that it was my fault; I hadn't done enough to stop him. I felt responsible for their pain."

Johnson was never charged in Koba's case, nor was he charged after the St. Hope accusations.

Koba says she spent the settlement on tuition and other things on one semester at University of San Francisco. She says she dropped out, saying she didn't want to look back on her degree knowing Johnson's money paid for it. She eventually got her degree from the University of Arizona.

Johnson's office released a statement on Friday saying "These allegations are two decades old. They were thoroughly investigated and rejected by law enforcement and reported in the media. They weren't true then, and they aren't true now, period."