Domestic Violence Charges Against Ex-WFT, LSU Player Derrius Guice Could Be Dropped

Ex-Washington Football Team running back Derrius Guice, who is facing assault charges, has tentatively reached an agreement with the victim, a prosecutor said.

Madeline Coleman | Jun 1, 2021

Domestic Violence Charges Against Ex-WFT, LSU Player Derrius Guice Could Be Dropped /

Former Washington Football Team player Derrius Guice is facing multiple charges, including assault, but his case could be dropped, Loudoun County’s top prosecutor said Tuesday.

The ex-LSU star is charged with three counts of assault and battery and one count of destruction of property with a value of under $1,000. But the prosecutor shared that Guice has tentatively reached an agreement with the victim that could lead to his case being dismissed.

According to WTOP, District Judge Matthew Snow asked defense attorney Peter Greenspun whether he expected the case to go to trial later this month.

“No, sir, I don’t think so,” Greenspun said.

This would be a sudden turnaround for the 23-year-old, who faced potential prison time after being charged with felony strangulation and a series of misdemeanors related to domestic violence last year. Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney Buta Biberaj dropped the felony charge in January.

If Guice works out a deal, a judge would need to approve it, which could come in a hearing later this month. Details of the agreement have not been made public, but attorneys said it falls under a lesser-known section of Virginia law called “accord and satisfaction.”

This requires the victim to appear in court and acknowledge in writing that they have been satisfactorily compensated for an injury. This could be an apology or financial payout, and lawyers say the latter is typical for recompense.

However, in this case, the victim has not been publicly identified. They are only referred to by their initials in court documents.

Guice was arrested in August 2020 after three separate domestic violence incidents. According to charging documents, in February, March and April 2020, Guice committed multiple violent acts against his then girlfriend, including pushing her to the ground several times, throwing her phone into the street and strangling her until she lost consciousness.

Washington Football Team released him after his arrest.

Guice has also been tied to the ongoing Title IX scandal at LSU, which led former football coach Les Miles to "mutually" part ways with Kansas following the release of LSU's 2013 sexual harassment investigation. LSU is expected to ban its former star indefinitely and plans to remove Guice's stats from the program's record books, a university spokesperson told ESPN.

The school's decisions come after the March Husch Blackwell report that detailed the failure of the athletic program to properly report sexual misconduct and abuse cases. The university's failure to comply with Title IX requirements to report and investigate incidents of sexual misconduct came to light after the school released the report.

On April 6, the U.S. Department of Education launched its second investigation of the program's mishandling of cases.

In March, a different woman, a 74-year-old who worked part-time security at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, testified before the Louisiana Senate Select Committee on Women and Children, saying that Orgeron knew that Guice sexually harassed at least one woman and lied about it.

During her testimony, Gloria Scott recalled when the then LSU player and his friends approached her at her post outside Elevator 8 in Bunker G in 2017.

“I like to f--- women like you, you older women, because y'all know y'all like us young men to f--- y'all,” Scott said Guice told her. “And, you know you want this body.”

Guice allegedly continued to sexually harass the then 70-year-old, making vulgar comments and rubbing his body up and down from his chest to his genitals, according to USA Today.

Scott told lawmakers that she tried to report the incident to LSU athletic department administrators, the school’s student accountability director and directly to Orgeron. However, the school didn't take action.

Orgeron allegedly later called Scott to ask her to forgive Guice, calling him a "troubled child." The head coach continued, telling her that the player was "just kidding."

Orgeron released a statement in lieu of testifying in April. In the written letter, the coach said the running back's alleged sexual harassment is "utterly unacceptable." However, he denied ever speaking to Scott.

The committee is holding hearings on LSU’s failure to comply with Title IX requirements to report and investigate incidents of sexual misconduct.

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Published Jun 1, 2021

MADELINE COLEMAN