Former New England Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs acquitted of assault charges

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DEDHAM — Former New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs was acquitted of criminal charges on Tuesday for what prosecutors described as an assault on his personal chef last December after a two-day trial in district court.

Diggs, 32, was charged with strangulation or suffocation, a felony, and a misdemeanor count of assault and battery. The jury of five women and one man acquitted him of both charges after deliberating for about an hour and a half on Tuesday afternoon.


Nine witnesses testified over the two-day trial, and jurors heard closing arguments from the lawyers on Tuesday afternoon.

Diggs was stoic throughout the trial and didn’t visibly react as the jury foreperson delivered the verdict aloud. But he appeared to become emotional shortly after the verdict, wiping away tears.

The Norfolk County District Attorney’s office, which prosecuted the case, said in a brief statement that it respected the jury’s decision.

“The Norfolk District Attorney’s Office is grateful to the jury for its service and the important role they play in the criminal justice system,” a spokesperson said.

Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse, attorney Mitchell Schuster criticized Diggs’ accuser for using domestic violence as a “sword ... in an attempt to extract money.”

Despite the woman’s repeated attempts to reach a financial settlement with Diggs before trial, Schuster said Diggs never wavered in his desire to have his day in court.

“No assault ever occurred,” Schuster said. “People should focus on real victims of domestic violence and allegations like this do a tremendous disservice to those who are really afflicted and impacted by causes like this.”


With the charges behind him, Schuster said the hope is that Diggs will latch on with an NFL team. The Patriots released him in a cost-saving move in June.

Schuster said he was surprised the district attorney’s office took the case to trial.

“It was a waste of resources,” he said.

Diggs was escorted swiftly from the courthouse into a waiting black SUV and ignored questions from reporters after the verdict.

The charges against him were filed in December, after the woman working as his chef reported to police on Dec. 16 that he had assaulted her two weeks earlier amid a dispute over money she felt she was owed.

The woman testified over two days at the trial, but her testimony was frequently interrupted by objections and sidebars. Judge Jeanmarie Carroll repeatedly warned the woman to only answer the question she was asked and not to use the trial as an airing of grievances.

At one point, Carroll warned her that her entire testimony could be stricken.

Diggs’ defense portrayed her as bitter about not being included in a trip to Miami and seeking revenge after being dismissed from her job. At one point, they said, she sought $5.5 million from Diggs.


In his closing argument, Assistant Norfolk District Attorney Drew Virtue admitted she wasn’t a “perfect witness” and was “argumentative, avoidant (and) difficult” on the stand. But he urged the jury not to throw out her testimony altogether and to focus on the manner in which she recounted the supposed assault.

On Tuesday, the defense called seven witnesses to testify for Diggs, many of whom were his employees. That included Diggs’ chief of staff and a woman he paid to braid his hair, who spent a week with the chef in New York City in the days after the supposed assault.

Each witness called by the defense said they never saw any evidence to suggest the woman had been assaulted — no bruising or redness on her face or neck, and that she never reported any kind of altercation to them.

When asked what was next for Diggs, Schuster, the lawyer, replied simply, “OTAs” — voluntary workouts held by NFL teams each year in late May and early June.

More stories about Stefon Diggs​

• Ex-Patriots player Stefon Diggs acquitted in assault trial | Day 2 recap
• Stefon Diggs’ accuser testified at ex-Patriots wide receiver’s trial | Day 1 recap
• Trial for ex-Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs begins Monday

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