Prosecutors in the sexual assault case against Kobe Bryant are being helped by a respected investigator who recently was hired to help solve the JonBenet Ramsey slaying.

Tom Bennett, who retired from the Arvada Police Department in 2001 after 30 years, has interviewed the alleged victim in the Bryant case at least once, according to a recent court filing.

"His involvement was for a very limited purpose, not as an ongoing part of the case," prosecution spokeswoman Krista Flannigan said Tuesday.

She would not elaborate.

In the Dec. 12 filing, deputy prosecutor Ingrid Bakke said Bryant's 19-year-old accuser told Bennett the NBA star tightened his grip on her neck at one point during their encounter June 30 at the mountain resort where she worked.

Prosecutors asked the judge to order Bryant to allow prosecutors to measure his hands. State District Judge Terry Ruckriegle has not ruled on the request.

Bennett declined to comment on his work on the case, first reported in Tuesday's Rocky Mountain News.

Bryant, 25, faces four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation if convicted. No trial date has been set. Bryant has said he had consensual sex with the woman.

The prosecution has also consulted with Henry Lee, the forensic scientist who worked on the O.J. Simpson and JonBenet Ramsey cases.

Boulder District Attorney Mary Keenan hired Bennett in June to work on finding the killer of 6-year-old JonBenet, who was found strangled and beaten in her family's Boulder home on Dec. 26, 1996.

Bennett investigated nearly 2,000 cases in Arvada, including about 25 homicides.

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