Former NBA Prospect Rashid Byrd Sentenced to 90 Years to Life in Prison Following String of Sexual Assaults

Johnny Vy_NBAE via Getty Images
Johnny Vy/NBAE via Getty Images
Warner Todd Huston

Former National Basketball Association Prospect Rashid Byrd has now been handed a 90-year-to-life prison sentence for a string of sexual assaults.

Byrd, 39, was sentenced on March 1 for the string of sexual assaults perpetrated between 2015 and 2020, according to the L.S. Police Department.

The former basketball player was arrested in 2019 after a woman came forward to report a sexual assault. However, during their investigation, the LAPD discovered that Byrd was linked to several other cases.

“During their investigation, detectives learned in 2010, Byrd was convicted of sexual assault involving a different victim,” the LAPD stated.

“Detectives also discovered that Byrd had been arrested for sexually assaulting a young woman in Washington State in 2005,” they said.

The police added that Byrd approached the women as a charming athlete, but that he turned violent in short order.

“He started as a charmer, playing up his status as an athlete and pseudo-celebrity, but that quickly faded into rapes and violence,” the investigators explained.

The NBA never picked up Byrd, but he did play nearly two dozen games with the L.A. D-Fenders, an NBA Development League team. Byrd also played for a European league and also has a few acting credits.

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