Former NHL star Mike Ribeiro pleads guilty to indecent assault

Former NHL star Mike Ribeiro has pleaded guilty to indecent assault stemming from an incident at his home in the summer of 2021. 

Ribeiro was charged with two counts of sexual assault on April 13th, 2022 after two women filed charges in Franklin Country, Texas. According to papers filed in court, Ribiero allegedly assaulted two women on June 23rd, 2021 "using his finger in his assault of one woman and his sexual organ on the other."

Ribeiro accepted a plea deal and admitted to touching the victim without her consent. 

"The young lady in this case was, once again, ready to place herself on the altar of truth for the sake of justice. However, in the end, to hear Mr. Ribeiro finally admit under oath that he violated her without her consent for his own sexual desire meant more than the possibility of hearing a future verdict read by the Judge," 8th Judicial District Attorney Will Ramsay said in a statement.

The victim took the stand in the trial and said that she has forgiven Ribeiro for his assault.

"Forgiveness is not a feeling; it’s a choice. Although I have forgiven you, I can only pray the others affected will choose to do the same, not for you, but for themselves," she said in court.

Ribeiro was given credit for the 24 hours his spent in jail and was order to pay a $4,000 fine.

This, of course, isn't the first time that Ribeiro has been alleged to have sexually assaulted a woman. In 2012, Ribeiro was sued by his family's former nanny who alleged that he sexually assaulted her while she was in the care of his own children.