Smith Lied On Stand, Accuser Says; She Fears Him -- Bowman Calls Kennedy Nephew `Ruthless'

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Without the blob that shielded her face when she testified that William Kennedy Smith raped her, Patricia Bowman told a national TV audience last night that he lied on the stand and that she lives in fear of him.

Bowman, 30, accused the nephew of Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., of raping her at the Kennedy family's Palm Beach, Fla., estate March 30. He was acquitted of rape and battery charges Dec. 11 after 10 days of trial and 77 minutes of jury deliberations.

"It's incomprehensible for me . . . to live every day of my life knowing how ruthless that man was in attacking me that night. And to hear what he said on that stand," Bowman, of Jupiter, Fla., tearfully said of Smith during the interview with Diane Sawyer of "PrimeTime Live."

The alleged attack occurred after she drove Smith home. The two had met at a Palm Beach bar, where they drank together and danced, Bowman told police.

During the program, Sawyer said an attorney for Smith had written to say he considered Bowman's continued allegations libelous. Smith attorney Mark Schnapp refused to comment late yesterday.

Crying at times, Bowman said in the interview that she was going public to set an example for rape victims.

"I'm not a blue blob," she said, referring to how her face was electronically obscured during her televised trial testimony.

"I'm a person. . . . I am a human being. I have nothing to be ashamed of. I'm terrified that victims everywhere have seen my case, and potential victims who have seen my case will not report because of what's happened to me. And that is one of the strongest motivations to `come out,' because you can survive."

Bowman denied she was "mentally disturbed," as Smith's lead attorney, Roy Black, said after his client was acquitted.

She said any inconsistencies in her story were caused by fear and trauma. "If I was going to contrive testimony, don't you think I would have filled in memory lapses?"

"I know that man raped me, and I seriously wonder what part of the word `no' he doesn't understand," Bowman said. "And I wonder what part of my trying to fight him off he doesn't understand."

Bowman strongly defended Moira Lasch, the Palm Beach County prosecutor who has been widely criticized for allegedly mishandling the case.

"I consider myself blessed to have had a brilliant, in my mind, human being," she said. Lasch and another prosecutor, Ellen Roberts, "did the best job they could." Bowman said Lasch "is a very proud woman. She is also very compassionate."

Two jurors in the case who saw the interview said Bowman's remarks failed to change their mind about Smith's innocence.

"She didn't supply the missing elements to have him be guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," said Lee Haller, a cosmetics-company executive.

Another juror, Doris Welch, said she empathized with the pain and suffering of Bowman, but added that the truth of what occurred that night would remain a mystery. "Probably something happened between the two of them, . . . but we won't ever know what," Welch said.

Meanwhile, a Palm Beach County grand jury yesterday declined to return an indictment after investigating possible obstruction of justice at the Kennedy estate. Longtime Kennedy family friend William Barry had been identified as the investigation's target.

The grand jury, which heard secret testimony from Kennedy last August, indicated evidence was insufficient.

-- Compiled from Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel, Associated Press, Los Angeles Times and Reuters.