Charlotte Hornets’ Miles Bridges Pleads No Contest in Domestic Violence Case
A Georgia man, facing sexual battery charges, entered into a no-contest plea on Tuesday to misdemeanor domestic violence charges in the case of a woman who accused him of holding her down and sexually abusing her.
“We’re not surprised,” said State’s Attorney John Champion.
The plea is on a misdemeanor charge, instead of the felony charge prosecutors had sought.
“The law clearly states that any kind of violence can be considered when you consider someone being in domestic violence,” Champion said. “We’ll use our limited resources appropriately — which have been considerable in this case — to prosecute this crime.”
That’s because the Georgia domestic violence law prohibits a variety of acts, including sexual battery, but applies it to violence against a person, not just violence against property, Champion said.
“Domestic violence has a very serious and very, very violent component,” he said.
Miles Bridges, the 39-year-old defendant who faced criminal sexual acts allegations in the case, is listed as the subject of the arrest and was arrested without incident, Champion said.
Bridges was arrested Monday after police received a 911 call that a woman was being held down by him and had been sexually assaulted. The woman, identified only as victim in court papers, went to the police to report the incident in early February, she said.
“The defendant was arrested at the scene,” Champion said.
Bridges is being held on a $10,000 bond.
Bridges, who is from the state, faces a preliminary hearing in court in December.
“I hate to say it, but it appears he’s guilty of something,” said James F. Kelly, an assistant state attorney.
Kelly said the victim described an almost comical encounter between the two.
“She was sitting on the couch watching TV, with the defendant walking away with a gun in his hand,” Kelly said. “It appeared to be like an episode of the show The Twilight
