Ex-Michigan State player pleads guilty in assault case

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 3:24 p.m. ET

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Former Michigan State football player Auston Robertson has pleaded guilty to a sexual assault charge and could face more than three years in prison.

The Lansing State Journal reports the 21-year-old entered the plea Wednesday to one count of assault with intent to commit criminal sexual penetration. Robertson told an Ingham County Circuit Court judge that he assaulted a fellow student in her off-campus apartment in April 2017.

Michigan State dismissed Robertson from the team following the allegations.

Robertson was initially charged with two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, and a judge later ruled that prosecutors could cite two previous rape accusations against Robertson during a trial. The school has said it was unaware of the previous sexual assault cases.

He faces up to up to 43 months in prison when sentenced Dec. 4.