Ray Rice Domestic Violence Charges Dismissed Following Completion of Pretrial Intervention Terms

Former NFL player Ray Rice has been dismissed from the domestic violence charges stemming from the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage where he could be seen knocking his wife unconscious inside a casino elevator last year.

The case of former Baltimore Ravens running back was dismissed by Judge Michael Donio upon receiving information from the Atlantic County prosecutor that Rice had completed the terms of his pretrial intervention. The former NFL player was able to pay a fine of $125 and attended anger management counselling, as per Fox News.

He received these sanctions after he was charged with third-degree aggravated assault for his action against his wife, Janay.

Rice was initially suspended for two games following the incident, but when the video showing him punching Janay and dragging her out of the elevator came out, he was suspended indefinitely.

However, the professional player made an appeal and ended up being reinstated though he has yet to sign with an NFL team.

Rice earlier told the Baltimore Sun that completing the pretrial intervention will be a "refreshing" start for him.

"I'm actually done in my case. Really, I just have to call the state of New Jersey once a month. After May 19, I'm done. It will be a full year. It will be like a refreshing start," he added.

The running back also considered the entire experience "a nightmare" adding that he already wants to move on with his life.

"It's an unfortunate situation for me and my wife. It's unfortunate. There's people that go through domestic violence on all different levels. We truly know we had one bad night, but I always preach that one bad decision and your dream can turn into a nightmare," he explained.

Rice then went on to say that he owned up to his mistake and admitted to the wrongdoing.

"We truly lived it, but now the way to come clean with it is to own it and try to help now. There's no reason that no one should have to go through what me and my wife been through, no one. I take full responsibility for my actions," the football player noted adding that he still hopes a team will be interested to get him back.

Rice may seem happy with the outcome of the case but not the National Domestic Violence Hotline which claimed that the dismissal of cases like this is common for first-time offenders, Huffington Post has learned.  

"This case has brought the dynamics of domestic violence to the forefront of national conversation. It is our hope that these important conversations about the complexity of domestic violence do not end with this decision," the group added in a statement.

Meanwhile, the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence said the judge's decision was "disappointing" and that  the intervention program should have never been considered as an option in the case.