Disgraced former University of Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore dodged jail time and was sentenced to just probation Tuesday over a dramatic stalking incident involving his ex-mistress.
The 40-year-old ex-Wolverines head coach and married dad of three walked into court with his wife, Kelli Moore, then soon landed the slap-on-the-wrist sentence of 18 months probation from Judge Cedric Simpson in Washtenaw County Court.
Moore had pleaded down last month to two misdemeanors involving him showing up at the home of ex-assistant and mistress Paige Shiver, 32, and threatening to kill himself when she broke things off.
Moore, donning a blue suit and tie, thanked his wife for “standing by me” in a brief statement to the judge before he was handed the sentence.
Simpson said he didn’t believe the crime warranted jail, but he warned Moore he wouldn’t hesitate to throw him behind bars if he violated probation.
The judge also said he didn’t want the sentence to diminish what Shiver went through.
“You had no right to do what you did,” Simpson told the onetime revered coach. “I know that [Shiver] was placed in fear. It was a traumatic experience that day for you. It was certainly a traumatic experience for her.
“You had no right to spread your pain to her,” the judge continued.
“I don’t know where your wife, Kelli, finds her strength,” Simpson added as the spouse stoically looked on from the courtroom gallery. “You, sir, took her for granted.”
Prosecutor Kati Rezmierski didn’t ask for a jail sentence, saying she would rely on the judge’s judgement.
But she did tell the jurist, “There was a young woman who was deeply impacted by the defendant’s choices on Dec. 10 last year.”
Moore’s lawyer, Ellen Michaels, said her client had taken responsibility for his actions, sought mental-health treatment and refocused himself on his family.
“Since this incident, Sherrone has engaged in counseling, gained insight into his life … recentered himself around his family and taken responsibility, expressing genuine remorse,” Michaels said, asking for a no-jail sentence.
Moore had faced up to five years behind bars on the more serious counts he was initially charged with: home invasion and stalking.
But he pleaded down to the lesser crimes of malicious use of a telecommunications devise and trespassing, which came with a total maximum sentence of seven months behind bars for both.
Prosecutors claimed that Moore — who was paid $5.5 million yearly for his coaching gig — bombarded his younger paramour with texts and calls before showing up to her home Dec. 10, grabbing her butter knives and scissors and threatening to use them to kill himself.
“I’m going to kill myself. I’m going to make you watch. My blood is on your hands. You’ve ruined my life,” prosecutors claimed Moore told Shiver at the time.
The dramatic incident came after Shiver fessed up to the school about the affair and decided to end things with the coach.
Moore was then canned after just two seasons with the team for having an “inappropriate relationship” with his underling.
Moore’s wife called 911 at one point after his termination fearing he was “going to hurt himself.”
Moore has been out on bond with the condition he wear an GPS tracking ankle monitor.
