Former New England Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs acquitted of assault charges
The former Patriots player had been accused of assaulting a woman who worked for him as a private chef.
DEDHAM — Former New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs was acquitted of criminal charges on Tuesday for what prosecutors described as an assault on his personal chef last December after a two-day trial in district court. Diggs, 32, was charged with strangulation or suffocation, a felony, and a misdemeanor count of assault and battery . The jury of five women and one man acquitted him of both charges after deliberating for about an hour and a half on Tuesday afternoon.
Nine witnesses testified over the two-day trial, and j urors heard closing arguments from lawyers on Tuesday afternoon . Diggs was stoic throughout the trial and didn’t visibly react as the jury foreperson delivered the verdict aloud. But he appeared to become emotional shortly after the verdict, wiping away tears.
The Norfolk County District Attorney’s office, which prosecuted the case, said in a brief statement that it respected the jury’s decision. “The Norfolk District Attorney’s Office is grateful to the jury for its service and the important role they play in the criminal justice system,” a spokesperson said. Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse, attorney Mitchell Schuster criticized Diggs’ accuser for using domestic violence as a “sword ...
in an attempt to extract money. ” Despite the woman’s repeated attempts to reach a financial settlement with Diggs before trial, he said Diggs never wavered in his desire to have his day in court. “No assault ever occurred,” Schuster said.