Lawyer's office: Peterson to plead 'not guilty' to child injury
By Cindy Horswell | October 7, 2014 |
Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson on Wednesday will make his first court appearance in a Montgomery County courtroom since his indictment on a felony child injury charge, and a representative says he plans to enter a 'not guilty' plea.
Peterson is charged with negligent injury to a child stemming from an incident in which he used a 'switch,' or thin tree branch, to discipline his 4-year-old son at his home in The Woodlands in May. He is to appear with his attorney, Rusty Hardin, at 9 a.m. in state District Judge Kelly Case's courtroom in Conroe. A spokeswoman for Hardin confirmed Tuesday that Peterson will enter a 'not guilty' plea.
No official trial date has been set, but if the case is not resolved quickly - and prosecutors have said it could take nine months to come to trial - Peterson would miss the rest of the 2014 football season. Peterson continues to collect his full $11.7 million annual salary while sitting out the games after being placed by the team on the NFL's exempt/commissioner's permission list in September.
Peterson has issued a written statement since his indictment in which he says he never intended to harm his son and was disciplining him as his parents did him. The boy had been flown down for a visit by his mother, who lives in Minnesota and has not made any public statements.
Peterson's case triggered a nationwide debate about the efficacy of corporal punishment compared to other forms of discipline.
If convicted, Peterson could face a maximum of two years in prison, though as a first-time offender he might be placed on probation.
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