Haynesworth pleads no contest to assault

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 (UPI) -- New England Patriots defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor assault count Monday, avoiding a trial on a sexual assault charge.

The former Washington Redskins player, obtained by New England during the off-season, had been accused by a cocktail waitress at a Washington hotel in February of groping her after a party.

A sexual assault trial was set to begin Tuesday in D.C. Superior Court but the charge was dropped in favor of a no contest plea to a misdemeanor count at Haynesworth's lawyer's insistence, The Washington Post reported.

The lineman agreed to undergo alcohol abuse counseling and psychological-social assessments and to perform 160 hours of community service under terms of the sentence imposed by Judge Geoffrey Alprin.

The victim -- then a student at Howard University -- had been cooperating with prosecutors but didn't want to testify at a trial, sources whose names were not reported told the Post.