In light of the recent information surrounding the Adrian Peterson child abuse case, there will be a long and arduous legal process that will have to play itself out. It was already reported that the All-Pro running back was released on bond after turning himself in to Texas authorities this morning, but other details surrounding his legal situation were still surfacing at that time.
Master Tesfatsion and Matt Vensel put together an overview of the proceedings for the Star Tribune, noting that there are many layers to the case. They fed from Montgomery County first assistant district attorney Phil Grant’s press conference to cull information about Peterson’s potential trial.
Tesfatsion provided some of the key points through his Twitter account. According to Tesfatsion, Peterson is facing one charged count of injury to a child. If convicted, that crime calls for a maximum two-year prison sentence and a fine of up to $10,000. Probation would be a possibility for someone with no prior criminal record (via Twitter).
No court date has been set, and Grant assumes that will not happen for a few weeks, and even longer before a trial date is set (via Twitter). He also noted that the grand jury in charge of the investigation was provided “lots of evidence over a significant number of weeks,” (via Twitter).
Grant expects the case to go to trial, and that likely will not occur until sometime in 2015.
In terms of his current status with the Vikings, the league released a brief-statement, saying that the incident will be reviewed under the NFL’s personal conduct policy. The Vikings have decided to deactivate Peterson for this Sunday’s game against the Patriots on their own, and no decision has been made as to his status further than this Sunday’s game.