The former mistress of Sherrone Moore, the ex-head coach of Michigan football, has voiced her outrage over the lenient punishment he received for a harrowing stalking incident that left her fearing for her safety.
Paige Shriver, aged 32, expressed her dismay at the fact that Moore, 40, was sentenced to just 18 months of probation. Initially, he faced a potential five-year jail sentence for breaking into his assistant-turned-lover’s home shortly after their relationship ended late last year.
“December 10th was the scariest day of my life,” Shriver stated following the sentencing hearing on Tuesday.
“The criminal acts he committed were terrifying and violent. He forced his way into my apartment, crying, shouting, and brandishing knives. I felt threatened and feared for my life,” she recounted.
“The sentence handed down today does not reflect the severity of the harm I suffered or the clear evidence in this case,” she remarked.
The former Wolverines coach, who had an annual salary of $5.5 million, was accused of barging into Shriver’s home on December 10, a move that followed his dismissal over their two-year affair.
Blaming Shriver for his ouster, the coach threatened to kill himself with butter knives and kitchen scissors inside her apartment.
Initially, Moore was slapped with felony charges of home invasion and stalking.
He took a deal last month that allowed him to skip trial and plead no contest to two misdemeanor charges, including malicious use of a telecommunications device in context of a domestic relationship and one count of trespass.
During sentencing, Washtenaw County Judge J. Cedric Simpson said jail time wasn’t warranted but warned Moore that “all bets are off” if he violated his probation.
Despite ordering probation, the judge said he didn’t want the sentence to diminish what Shiver went through.
“I would let Ms Shiver know that this court is not by any means lessening the impact of those events,” the judge said.
“Frankly, Mr Moore, you had no right to do what you did,” he added. “I know that she was placed in fear. It was a traumatic experience that day for you. It was certainly a traumatic experience for her. But you had no right to spread your pain to her.”
The judge added that his decision was greatly influenced by the ex-coach’s wife, Kelli.
“I don’t know where your wife, Kelli, finds her strength,” Simpson said as the coach’s spouse looked on from the courtroom gallery.
“You, sir, took her for granted.”
