A judge has granted Natalia Bryant a restraining order against a disturbed stalker who has been tormenting the teenager for nearly two years.
The order was handed down on Wednesday after Natalia, Kobe Bryant’s oldest daughter, sought help from the courts against 32-year-old Dwayne Cortez Toliver Kemp. The gun-obsessed man has repeatedly sent the University of Southern California student unwanted messages on social media, beginning in 2020 when she was just 17 years old. He believes that the two are in a relationship despite never meeting. When he did not get the response he wanted on the internet, Kemp tried to visit her on November 2nd by showing up at Natalia’s sorority house and to one of her classes, though it is unclear how close he got to her.
In one message, Kemp sent Natalia a photo of her deceased father and expressed his goal to have a “Kobe-like” child with her. His online presence has also become increasingly frightening, with him expressing his love for guns and weapons he wishes to purchase. Kemp’s court record shows multiple arrests, some of which were for firearm charges.
The restraining order demands that Kemp remain at least 200 yards away from Natalia, as well as her home, workplace, vehicle, and the USC campus. Though this is a step in the right direction, the request is only temporary at this time.
“In light of all the trauma that she’s already been through with the tragic loss of her father, she doesn’t need something like this,” said her lawyer, Lou Shapiro.
A hearing date is scheduled for December 14th, with an extension of the protective order likely.
