Bryant has acquired a reputation as a family man

"Sometimes it takes a while. It may be beyond the end of the week," Mark Hurlbert, prosecution lawyer for Eagle County, Colorado, said.

Bryant's arrest on Friday, on claims that he sexually assaulted a woman at a hotel near Vail in Colorado, has shocked basketball fans and commentators worldwide.

The 24-year-old Los Angeles Lakers star has been feted both for his outstanding talent on the court and for his squeaky clean image as a young husband and father.

The authorities received the complaint against Bryant last Tuesday, and said that the player turned himself to police on Friday.

Sexual assault charges are extraordinarily complex and sometimes it takes a while to get through everything Mark Hurlbert Eagle County prosecutor

A woman has accused the basketball player of assaulting her in a hotel in Edwards County, east of Denver, on 30 June.

Although the hotel in question has not been named, a bell boy at The Lodge and Spa at Cordillera near Edwards said Bryant had been a guest there.

Bryant has denied the claims with his lawyer Pamela Mackey saying that her client would be "completely exonerated".

Bryant had been in Colorado for surgery on his right knee at Vail's Steadman Hawkins Clinic, Ms Mackey said.

Star treatment?

The multi-millionaire Bryant was freed on $25,000 bail, while an investigation into whether charges should be brought against him continues.

"Sexual assault charges are extraordinarily complex and sometimes it takes a while to get through everything," Mr Hurlbert said.

Bryant is said to have been a guest at the Lodge and Spa near Edwards

Speaking of the unidentified woman who made the complaint Mr Hurlbert said: "She seems to be okay, considering the circumstances."

The controversy surrounding the high profile case has been fuelled further by accusations that due to his celebrity status Bryant has been treated differently by police and the judiciary.

Eagle County Sheriff Joe Hoy and his police team spent nearly 30 hours on the case following the initial complaint before contacting Bryant.

"There wasn't any urgency. We felt we were doing the right thing for everyone involved," Sheriff Hoy said. "We wanted to give people the time to themselves to adjust" because of the 4 July Independence Day holiday.

Reputation under threat

And Judge Russell Granger ordered the legal documents sealed and refused to allow Bryant's mugshots to be released.

"That treatment would not be accorded the average citizen," Robert Pugsley, a criminal law professor at Los Angeles' Southwestern School of Law, told the Associated Press news agency.

"Other people would be handcuffed immediately, thrown into a squad car and taken downtown," he said.

Unless you demonstrate that the woman making the charges is a complete fraud, just the accusations themselves will have an adverse effect on Kobe Bryant's reputation Marc Ganis sports consultant

News of the arrest has rocked the sports world, with reporters and camera crews flocking to the rural mountain town of Eagle, 160 kilometres (100 miles) west of Denver.

One of the biggest stars of the game, Bryant is a five time NBA All Star, the youngest player to reach the 10,000 points mark, and last season he was the second highest scorer in the league.

An intelligent young man, who speaks fluent Italian, Bryant is known to eschew parties and the high life, preferring to spend time with his wife Vanessa and their six-month-old daughter Natalia Diamante.

However, commentators warn that even if charges never materialise the damage to Bryant's image may have already been done.

"Unless you demonstrate that the woman making the charges is a complete fraud, just the accusations themselves will have an adverse effect on Kobe Bryant's reputation," Chicago sports consultant Marc Ganis told the Associated Press.