Former Montreal Canadiens player Mike Ribeiro was acquitted Friday in Texas of two counts of sexual assault while the jury was unable to agree on a third, similar charge.
According to The Dallas Morning NewsRibeiro was accused of raping a woman on a speedboat, fingering another woman on a personal watercraft, and attempting to attack a third on June 23, 2021. He was on a lake on the shore of a vacation home he once owned in East Texas.
The judge in charge of his trial declared the third charge against the ex-hockey player – another of attempted sexual assault – overturned since the jury was deadlocked and could not reach a conclusion. verdict after approximately 12 hours of deliberations, again according to the Texan daily.
It was not immediately clear whether he will be retried on the third charge.
Mike Ribeiro played half a dozen seasons for the Montreal Canadiens before being traded to Dallas in 2006. He then played for the Washington Capitals, Phoenix Coyotes and Nashville Predators before being traded to Dallas.
This is not his first run-in with the law in connection with allegations of sexual assault.
In 2015, a nanny who worked for the Ribeiro family accused the ex-hockey player and his wife of having covered up his attack, which allegedly took place in 2012.
The complainant was 18 years old at the time and she was sleeping in the basement of the Ribeiro residence with their two children when the Dallas Stars player allegedly attacked her. The case ended up being settled amicably.