ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Court TV) — The former University of Michigan football coach avoided jail time on Tuesday as a judge sentenced him to probation for two misdemeanor offenses.
Sherrone Moore addresses the judge at his sentencing hearing. (Court TV)
Sherrone Moore, 40, pleaded no contest to charges of malicious use of a telecommunications device in the context of a domestic relationship and trespass in March. He faced up to six months behind bars at Tuesday’s sentencing.
Prosecutors had initially charged Moore with a felony for home invasion as well as stalking and illegal entry. Those charges were previously dropped. “I will commend counsel on this case, because I think they have both shown courage, but particularly I want to address the Washington County Prosecutor’s Office in doing what is right,” Judge J. Cedric Simpson said at the hearing. “I watched, I don’t know how many hours of video in this case. And I will tell you that [investigators] were not only professional, they tried to get to the bottom of it. And at some points, their efforts seemed thwarted.”
Moore’s former executive assistant had reported to the police that the defendant had confronted her, blamed her for his firing and threatened to kill himself with knives in her apartment. The incident on Dec. 10 allegedly came after the woman ended her affair with Moore, who is married, and spoke to school officials about it.
Simpson revealed that while the alleged victim claimed to have told Moore to stop contacting her on Dec. 8, the evidence showed that wasn’t possible. Call logs showed numerous calls back and forth, with the alleged victim placing a call to Moore that lasted more than 11 minutes. Knowing that, prosecutors could not move forward with the stalking charge, Simpson said. “In good faith, legally, morally, ethically, they could not proceed on that,” he said. “And they knew it. They didn’t try to hide the ball. They didn’t do any of that.”
While the alleged victim told the Court that she was deeply impacted by the incident and wanted Moore to face the maximum punishment, Simpson ruled that incarceration was not appropriate in Moore’s case. But his mercy came with stern words: “I will send my direct warning to you, Mr. Moore,” Simpson said, “if there should be a violation, all bets are off the table.”
In deciding to spare Moore from jail, Simpson credited the defendant’s wife. “There’s a certain irony in a lot of this, and it’s a big one, in my opinion. The person, quite frankly, Mr. Moore, that is saving you from the full wrath of this court is the one you betrayed.” Simpson said that the letter submitted to him by Kelly Moore had the greatest impact on his sentencing decision.
Simpson sentenced Moore to a total of 18 months of probation, during which time he must continue mental health treatment and have no contact with the victim.
