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PHOENIX - Maricopa County officials announced Friday that Dion Earl has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for sexual assaults.
Earl was arrested by Mesa Police in October 2017, and accused of sexually abusing and assaulting an 18-year-old and an 21-year-old woman. He was found guilty of the crimes in late August.
Dion Earl
Earl is a former owner of a professional indoor soccer team in the Northeast and has lived in both Mesa and the State of Washington for a time. Several women testified earlier in the trial, describing unwanted sexual encounters with Earl.
During the trial, Earl testified in court testifying in his own defense, described incidents of massages he's given and received from women who are now accusing him of sexual misconduct.
In court on Friday, Earl was allowed to speak in his own defense, and Earl cried in court. He also talked about his children living without their father, and his wife, who is ill. Earl even brought up his Christian beliefs, begging to be let off on probation.
The judge, however, was not buying it, calling him a sexual predator and threw the book at him.
Earl will be given credit for the 714 days he has already spent in jail.