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Mike Ribeiro Is Confronting A 50-Year Prison Sentence

Photo of Igor Burdetskiy Igor Burdetskiy Follow on X January 28, 2024
1 1 minute read

In the criminal trial of a retired NHL player charged with repeated sexual assaults, testimony began again on Friday morning.

After retiring from hockey in 2017, Mike Ribeiro, 43, of Fresno, California, was charged with three counts of sexual assault that are said to have occurred on June 23, 2021.

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office’s Lt. Leo Herrera, the case’s main investigator, began the trial proceedings on Thursday. Herrera cited a small agency with few detectives as the reason for the ten-month lapse between collecting the initial statements, conducting his investigation, and submitting the case to the district attorney’s office for prosecution until April 2022.

Video from Herrera’s interviews with the claimed victims—who went into explicit detail about Ribeiro’s alleged sexual assaults—was displayed.

Herrera was dismissed after video was shown from an interview with Ribeiro’s third alleged victim.

A sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE), who examined the three ladies barely hours after they made their statements at the sheriff’s office, was the next witness called by the state. The nurse gave a thorough explanation of her duties and the protocols for conducting exams for sexual assault. After that, she was asked specific questions about each of the three assessments and given the paper records she had taken, going into further depth to clarify her notes. She claimed that, at the time of the incident, this was just the second occasion in her professional life that she had evaluated three victims simultaneously. To finish all three exams, it took about five hours and one to two boxes of gloves, each containing one hundred gloves.

In all three of the reports, she wrote “no trauma noted” in her physical assessment of each woman’s body.

Testimony will resume Monday morning, starting with the initial cross examination from the defense.

The former NHL player could spend up to 50 years in jail if found guilty on all charges of sexually abusing two women and making attempts to do the same with a third.

Igor Burdetskiy

Igor Burdetskiy

Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & CEO at Hooked on Hockey Magazine
I grew up playing Ball and Roller Hockey day and night somewhat religiously throughout elementary and middle school. The two don't compare though when I lace up the skates and hit the ice. I live and breathe hockey beyond the perspective of "it's just a game" and I will gladly talk hockey for hours with anyone. Hockey is more than just a lifestyle, it's a culture of passionate people who make memories every time the puck is dropped. Hockey has not only helped me get through some of the hardest times in life but has created some of the best memories to date. Want to talk hockey with me? Shoot me an email: iburdetskiy@hookedonhockey.com and let's talk some hockey!
Igor Burdetskiy
Photo of Igor Burdetskiy Igor Burdetskiy Follow on X January 28, 2024
1 1 minute read
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