Two months after parting ways with Nebraska, Maurice Washington has been sentenced to 30 days in jail and two years of probation after pleading no contest in a California court to a misdemeanor case alleging he sent a video of a person under the age of 18 engaging in sexual conduct.
Washington was initially charged in February 2019 with a felony charge of possession of that video, as well as one misdemeanor count under California’s “Revenge Porn” law for sending that video to the victim to inflict emotional harm. Had Washington been convicted on both original charges, he originally faced up to two years in jail, a $4,500 fine, or both. Prosecutors dropped the felony charge in exchange for Washington’s no contest plea.
Washington was taken into custody on Thursday, according to the County of Santa Clara inmate booking website. The website also shows that he is currently in a minimum security facility with an expected release date of March 20, 2020.
The sentence comes after the case was pushed back five times over the course of several months, with a California judge ordering Washington appear personally in court on Jan. 10.
Washington was indefinitely suspended from the Nebraska football team on Oct. 20 of this past season. He had previously been suspended for the first half of the Northwestern matchup on Oct. 5 due to a violation of team rules.
“I wish things would be a little different,” Frost said following the Oct. 20 suspension. “Listen, Coach [Tom] Osborne was this way. He wasn't quick to crumble kids up and throw them away. Some of the kids that are in some of those situations, if they're gone out of this program, that road doesn't lead to very many good places. As long as I'm here, I'm going to try to help these young men as much as I can. That's the promise I make to their parents when I sit in their living room and tell them we're going to try to help them no matter what. There's certain things that they know if they do, I'm not going to help them and they're on their own.
“But I want what's best for all these guys, so we're going to try to continue to help them as long as they can be helped, and there always comes a point where you have to throw your hands up and say, we tried. But until then, we want to do what's right by them because I think that's the right thing to do. We certainly tried to do everything we can for Mo, and hopefully it works out well."
Washington played in 18 games during his career at Nebraska. He finished with 753 yards rushing on 127 carries, 36 catches for 383 yards and seven total touchdowns.
