What’s missing from the dismissal of the Kobe Bryant sexual assault charge is any sense of justice.

A woman says she was raped. A celebrity basketball player is stigmatized, and the bungling of prosecutors and the Eagle, Colo., court is an embarrassment to our legal system.

Truth is always difficult to find in he-said-she-said cases involving sexual assault. Determining questions of consent is rarely a straight line, and we have no way of knowing whether the allegations against Bryant are true.

The Colorado judge overseeing the case dismissed the charge Wednesday, after Bryant’s accuser said she would not testify in the criminal case. She has decided to take her chances with a civil lawsuit, where Bryant faces monetary punishment but no prison time and where the burden of proof is easier to meet.

Bryant has admitted to having sex with the woman, maintaining throughout the proceedings that the encounter was consensual. After the charge was dropped, Bryant released the following statement:

“I want to apologize to her for my behavior that night and for the consequences she has suffered in the past year. … Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did.”

The young woman has been dragged through the mud. Her name and photo have been widely distributed, and her character has come under consistent attack. Colorado’s rape shield law was ignored, and she has paid the price with her reputation.

Instead of a possible term of life imprisonment, Bryant now faces signing away part of his $136 million, multi-year contract from the Los Angeles Lakers if a civil jury finds against him.

We suspect Bryant is willing to pay to end this case. He avoids a possible prison sentence, his accuser would have a chance to start a new life – maybe with a large chunk of cash – and the residents of Eagle, Colo., where this circus of a trial has been taking place, get their town back.

But justice is woefully absent. A man has been accused of rape, a charge that will surely follow him. A woman’s right to be secure, to say “no,” has been undermined. And the law looks like it’s for sale.

Nobody wins in this case. They’ve only escaped.