University of Alabama reserve tackle, Elijah Pritchett, was arrested on Wednesday Dec. 20 for allegedly knowingly spreading a sexually transmitted disease.
Pritchett reportedly has been charged with a Class C misdemeanor for his actions but according to Daily Mail Sports, the Tuscaloosa Municipal Court presiding over him granted him youthful offender status the next day.
The redshirt freshman footballer was eligible for the status as he’s between the ages of 18 to 21 years old, and now he’s allowed to plead down to a war sentence. The youthful offender status also means that Pritchett will be able to proceed without being subjected to a jury trial and he will avoid a criminal conviction.
Although records of the case will remainremain sealed to the public because of his status, as of right now, Pritchett is facing both monetary fines and up to three months in jail if he’s convicted.
The Alabama player has since been released on a $500 bond, ahead of his team preparing to play against University of Michigan in the College Football Playoff on the first day of next year.
The University of Alabama hasn’t issued any public statements about the arrest, and the Alabama head coach Nick Saban has been silent as well.
As previously reported, this isn’t the first incident with the law that Pritchett has found himself in while in Alabama. He was pulled over earlier this year for going nearly 100 miles per hour in a 65 mph zone — at first he maintained that he was unaware of how fast he was going, but later continued to plead guilty. His punishment for the charge was 10 hours of community service, participation in a four hour long course on defensive driving, and he was also ordered to pay $197 in court fees. The case was dismissed in early September, but now he’s in the spotlight again for his recent infraction.
As a player, Pritchett was a reserve and special teams player during Alabama’s 13 games this season.