A former University of Southern California linebacker was sentenced to one year in prison on Tuesday after pleading guilty to sexual assault charges.
Osa Masina, 20, was initially charged with first-degree felony rape and two first-degree felony charges of forcible sodomy. Masina never stood trial and pleaded guilty in October to three lesser charges of misdemeanor sexual battery, reports The OCR.
Masina had been suspended from the team in August but was removed from USC completely in September.
The plea was offered to Masina by prosecutors after a judge ruled pieces of key evidence inadmissible.
Salt Lake City Judge Keith Kelly sentenced Masina to three years or probation and one year in jail. He will not be forced to register as a sex offender because of the reduction of the charges. The judge dismissed two of the three charges. Each of the three counts carried a maximum penalty of one year in jail.
Masina must also complete a psychosexual evaluation and additional recommended treatment.
At the sentencing, Masina reportedly apologized to the victim and her family and took full responsibility for his actions.
The victim spoke to reporters following the sentencing, stating she did not feel justice was served.
“They talked a lot about how he lost everything, but I don’t think a lot of people realized what I lost. All of the therapy sessions I’ve had to be in, all of the nights I couldn’t sleep, the nightmares that I’ve had, the flashbacks. Everything.”
Victim Recalls Night of Violent Sexual Assault
The alleged incident happened at a house party in Cottonwood Heights, a Salt Lake City suburb, in July 2016. The woman says Masina raped her and forced her to perform oral sex on him, according to the Bleacher Report. Masina told police the sex was consensual.
The woman testified, stating she woke up to Masina having sex with her. When she tried to stop him, Masina laughed and continued to rape her. She says she realized she was bleeding on her way home.
“I will never forget that laugh,” she said.
The two previously had consensual sex and kissed the evening of the assault but the victim says she was too intoxicated to consent.
“It doesn’t matter what you’ve done previously or what happened before. All that matters is what happened at that moment. And I think that’s something everybody else needs to learn.”
The victim says Masina sexually assaulted her a few weeks before the Cottonwood Heights sexual assault when she visited him in Los Angeles.
“The number one question on everyone’s mind when this came out: Why did she hang out with him again?” says Bethany Warr of the Utah Crime Victims Legal Clinic. “She was able to articulate that beautifully today. When something happens to you that you know was wrong and wasn’t okay, your brain will literally go into overtime trying to convince yourself that everything’s okay.”
