Former NHLer Reid Boucher pleads guilty to sexual assault of a minor

Please note: this story contains details regarding the sexual assault of a minor and may be triggering for some

Reid Boucher, who is currently playing in the KHL after participating in more than 130 games in the NHL, has pleaded guilty to the sexual assault of a minor while with a billet family in the state of Michigan back in 2011. Boucher, now 28, would have been 17 years old at the time and a member of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program.

According to the Detroit Free Press, Boucher was originally charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct, which carries a sentence of 25 years to life in prison. However, during a court appearance in December, the judge "agreed to let Boucher enter a plea for the lesser charge and agreed to sentence him with no upfront jail time through the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, or HYTA. Under HYTA, the case won't appear on Boucher's public record if he successfully completes his sentence."

The victim in the case, who is now 23, is disgusted with the sentence.

"I feel like a lot of the progress I've made over the last 10 years – that's been undone," she told the Detroit Free Press.

She was 12 at the time of the incident. According to court documents, Boucher pleaded guilty to "third-degree criminal sexual conduct involving sexual penetration with an individual between the ages of 13 and 16 years old." She stated Boucher forced her into oral sex twice using threats of exposing a video of her dancing the first time, and threatening to tell people about the first incident the second time.

The article from the Detroit Free Press states USA Hockey was contacted about the incident in 2011, but all it did was remove Boucher from the billet home and placed him elsewhere.

Related: Lou Lamoriello, who drafted Reid Boucher, comments on what he knew and when

Boucher is scheduled to be sentenced on January 31st. He currently plays for Yaroslavl Lokomotiv of the KHL. In the NHL, he played for the New Jersey Devils and the Vancouver Canucks.

Source: Detroit Free Press

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