Assault case dismissed against former Nebraska coach Joseph

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The felony assault case against former Nebraska interim head coach and assistant Mickey Joseph was dismissed Wednesday because the alleged victim refuses to testify.

Joseph had faced a charge of assault by strangulation or suffocation in connection with a November domestic disturbance at a Lincoln home.

A preliminary hearing was scheduled, but prosecutor Erica Pruess told Lancaster County Judge Laurie Yardley the alleged victim emailed her in February to say she wouldn't testify.

Pruess said a law enforcement officer in Arizona, where the alleged victim now lives, unsuccessfully attempted to serve a subpoena compelling the alleged victim to appear as a material witness.

According to a court filing Monday, the officer made seven attempts to serve the subpoena at a Phoenix-area residence between March 22-27. The officer said on at least one occasion he saw somebody in the residence through a window.

Joseph, dressed in a suit and tie, appeared at Wednesday's hearing by video with his attorney, Sean Brennan. A message seeking comment was left on Joseph's cell phone.

Police went to a Lincoln residence in the afternoon of Nov. 30 — two days after Matt Rhule was introduced as the Cornhuskers' new coach — after a report of a domestic disturbance. Following an investigation, Joseph was arrested at another location.

Joseph was Nebraska’s interim football coach for nine games in 2022 following the firing of Scott Frost. Joseph was placed on administrative leave after his arrest, and the university announced two weeks later that he was no longer with the football program.

The alleged victim told police she and Joseph were in an argument when Joseph pushed her, causing her to fall onto a couch. She said Joseph got on top of her and placed his hands around her throat.

“He pushed me on the couch and strangled me,” she said, according to a police affidavit. She said her breathing was impeded and that she wasn’t able to breathe until she pushed him off.

When she went into the kitchen, she said, Joseph grabbed her hair from behind and pulled her backward, causing her to fall to the floor. In the process of falling, she said, Joseph struck her in the left temple with a closed fist.

Police said she had visible redness and swelling around her left eye which was consistent with being struck, and she was observed to have several strands of hair clinging to her upper pant leg. She said the hairs were pulled from her when Joseph grabbed her.

The Associated Press generally does not identify people who say they have been subjected to extreme abuse. The woman in the Joseph case has not publicly identified herself.

Less than two weeks after Joseph was charged, Priscilla Joseph asked for a legal separation in Lancaster County Court. A judge denied Priscilla Joseph's motion to have records sealed in that case.

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