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Former New Mexico State player agrees to plead guilty to sexual assault charge

Former New Mexico State player agrees to plead guilty to sexual assault charge

LAS CRUCES, NM (AP) — A former New Mexico State basketball player has accepted a plea deal in a sexual assault case against teammates that led to halting the team’s 2022-23 season.

Kim Aiken Jr. agreed to plead guilty Tuesday to two felony counts of false imprisonment and one count of conspiracy to commit false imprisonment.

Aiken agreed to testify against another former teammate, Deshandre Washington, whose assault trial is scheduled for February. If the deal goes through, Aiken would be sentenced to 4 1/2 years of probation. He was originally charged with 11 felonies that carried up to 24 years in prison.

Aiken’s plea comes about two months after a teammate, Dr. Bradley, also agreed to testify against Washington in exchange for a guilty plea to disorderly conduct. If Bradley cooperates, he will receive probation after initially facing up to 27 years in prison.

The charges against Washington also carry a sentence of up to 27 years in prison.

Separate civil lawsuits in the case described a “humiliating” ritual in which the defendants pulled down the victims’ pants and sometimes grabbed their genitals. The descriptions were consistent with findings from the school’s Title IX investigation of the same players.

The indictments against the players detailed episodes in 2022 in which the defendants were accused “of holding younger players and student personnel against their will while violating them. The alleged acts included multiple incidents in which they forcibly restrained the victims while violently grabbing their genital area.”

Last year, the school paid $8 million to settle a lawsuit filed by two of the victims, former players Deuce Benjamin and Shak Odunewu, who went public with their stories of abuse.


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