Ex-Arizona Assistant Coach Craig Carter Sentenced to 5 Years in Jail for Assault

Former University of Arizona track and field coach Craig Carter was sentenced to five years in prison following a conviction of aggravated assault and assault with a dangerous weapon, according to John Barr of ESPN.com.

Carter attacked former athlete Baillie Gibson in April 2015, choking her while threatening her with a box cutter.

He confessed to the crime in an interview with campus police.

"My life has been shattered because of the trust I put into Craig and the university," Gibson said while testifying at Monday's sentencing hearing. "I wish I didn't have to think about any of this because it hurts so much. No matter how hard I try I can't escape it."

Gibson told Outside the Lines in May 2017 that Carter had sexually assaulted her and then "coerced and blackmailed" her for sex for close to three years beginning in 2012. Carter denied the assault and said the other encounters were consensual, though even then NCAA policy would consider it sexual abuse. When Gibson told him she would no longer participate in a 2015 meeting within the track and field office, he "choked her by placing one hand around her neck and, while holding a box cutter to her face with his other hand, told her he'd cut her face so no man would ever want her."

The victim still has an outstanding civil lawsuit against Carter, the University of Arizona and its board of regents.