In this Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017 photo, Osa Masina appears in court for his sentencing hearing at the Matheson Courthouse in Salt Lake City. Masina, a suspended University of Southern California football player who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor sexual assault, has been sentenced to one year in a Utah jail. The Deseret News reports that 20-year-old Masina, a Utah native, was sentenced Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017, for three counts of sexual battery. (Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune, via AP, Pool)
December 06, 2017 - 12:58 PM
SALT LAKE CITY - A suspended University of Southern California football player who pleaded guilty in a sexual assault case has been sentenced to one year in a Utah jail.
Osa Masina, 20, was led from a courtroom in handcuffs Tuesday to serve the term that came after he pleaded guilty to three counts of misdemeanour sexual battery in an agreement with prosecutors, the Deseret News reported .
The Utah native was charged with raping a woman who passed out after a July 2016 party. She said Tuesday that she's suffered from nightmares and flashbacks, and felt victimized again when her account was questioned.
"I don't think a lot of people realize what I've lost," she said. "This story is not made up. It is not a rumour. It is not a lie."
The Associated Press does not typically name victims of sexual assault.
Masina apologized, and said he would move forward to better himself going forward. His attorney Greg Skordas, who has said Masina thought the encounter was consensual, was disappointed with the yearlong term imposed by Judge Keith Kelly.
"We expected and hoped for a lesser jail sentence," Skordas said.
The woman called the year in jail a relatively light punishment. Masina won't be listed as a sex offender.
The case was among a series of sex abuse prosecutions across the country involving collegiate athletes that have brought calls for stronger protections by universities and justice systems for women.
Masina was a standout player at Brighton High School outside Salt Lake City, and a sophomore linebacker for USC when he was suspended.
He and a USC teammate were also accused of assault the same woman in California days before the Utah party, but prosecutors in Los Angeles declined to file charges. They said it could have been difficult to prove the woman was too intoxicated to consent.
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Information from: Deseret News, http://www.deseretnews.com
News from © The Associated Press, 2017