USC Trojans linebacker accused of sexually assaulting incapacitated woman AVOIDS prison

A University of Southern California linebacker accused of sexually assaulting a woman last year accepted a plea deal that will spare him from prison.

ESPN reported that Osa Masina, 20, pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual battery in a Utah court on Thursday. The deal means that Masina faces up to three years in county jail and probation. He won’t have to register as a sex offender.

Masina was originally charged with rape and two counts of forcible sodomy for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman during a party in July 2016. The woman claimed that Masina assaulted her after edible marijuana and alcohol rendered her nearly unable to move.

Defense attorney Greg Skordas claimed his client believed the encounter was consensual but didn’t consider the woman’s impaired state, ESPN also reported.

Prosecutors amended the charges Thursday, alleging Masina “touched [the victim’s] breast and buttocks in a manner that he should have known would have caused her affront or alarm,” according to The Salt Lake Tribune.

A series of rulings against the prosecution supposedly led to the plea agreement. The Tribune reported that Judge Keith Kelly ruled that state prosecutors couldn’t present some expert testimony, several pornographic videos recovered from Masina’s phone, and testimony from the victim’s ex-boyfriend concerning a Snapchat video he said depicted Masina and the victim having sex and was filmed without her consent.

Masina was a sophomore linebacker when he was suspended from the team. Skordas said he doesn’t expect his client to return to the USC Trojans despite Thursday’s plea deal.

Sentencing is scheduled for December 5.

 

[Featured Image: AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File]