LANSING – Three former MSU football players accused of sexually assaulting a female student during a party pleaded guilty to lesser charges of seduction as part of an agreement with prosecutors.

Josh King, Donnie Corley and Demetric Vance each faced sexual assault charges stemming from an incident during a party at a campus apartment in January 2017. They were charged in June and dismissed from the football team.

The agreement, made public in a hearing before Ingham County Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina this morning, calls for all three to have no up-front jail time. 

Their court records also would become non-public under a Michigan law that allows judges to close the records of young offenders as long as they meet the terms of their agreement and do not commit any future offenses. Aquilina said during the hearing that she was granting Holmes Youthful Trainee status to all three.

They can withdraw their guilty pleas if Aquilina includes jail time in their sentences, which are scheduled to be set in a hearing at 8:30 a.m. on June 6.

Ingham County Assistant Prosecutor Steve Kwasnik said the victim had been consulted and approved of the terms of the plea agreements.

Shannon Smith, King’s attorney, declined to comment. Attorneys for the other two players couldn’t be reached for comment immediately following the plea hearing.  

The seduction charge is a felony with a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison. It involves seducing an unmarried woman for sexual acts.  

Under the agreement, King, of Darien, Illinois, also pleaded guilty to a charge of surveilling an unclothed person. He originally faced the most serious charges:  one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, and capturing an image of an unclothed person. He faced up to life in prison if convicted.

Corley and Vance both of Detroit, had been charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct. They each faced up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

Michigan State University Police said at a hearing that led to the charges that the victim reported King invited her to “speak somewhere quiet,” then “pulled” her into a bathroom and forced her to perform oral and vaginal sex; Corley and Vance were each accused of later forcing her to perform oral sex. 

Police also allege that King recorded himself having sex with the woman.

The former players, who had been suspended from the team during the police investigation, were dismissed from the football team after they were charged in June. They were also dismissed from MSU following university Title IX investigations.  

A fourth former player, 20-year-old defensive end Auston Robertson, awaits trial on two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with a separate incident.

Check back for updates.

Contact Matt Mencarini at (517) 267-1347 or mmencarini@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattMencarini.

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