Former UFC champion Cain Velasquez pleads no contest to attempted murder of man accused of sexually assaulting his son at day care center

Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez pleaded guilty in California on Friday to attempted murder and assault.

The 42-year-old faced attempted murder charges after allegedly shooting dead a man accused of abusing his then four-year-old son in February 2022 while leading him on a high-speed chase.

Velasquez, a two-time UFC champion, entered a no contest plea with Judge Arthur Bocanegra at the Santa Clara County Courthouse in San Jose, California, in exchange for a lighter sentence.

As a result, the first-degree murder charges against him are dropped, meaning he no longer faces a life sentence with the possibility of parole.

“This defendant decided to become judge, jury, and executioner. His actions endangered innocent bystanders, including young children and their parents who could have been injured or killed when he shot his intended victim,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement. “We have excellent law enforcement in this county. Let them do their job.”

According to the Mercury News, his trial was scheduled to begin on September 9, but after his plea, a hearing has been scheduled for October 18. The actual verdict is reportedly expected at a later date.

The sentencing recommendation from the country’s probation department will weigh the seriousness of the incident against Velasquez’s lack of criminal record and the sexual abuse case against Goularte, it said. ESPN.

Velasquez was arrested after allegedly chasing a pickup truck driven by Harry Goularte, who is accused of sexually abusing the fighter’s then-4-year-old son at a daycare center owned by Goularte’s mother.

He is said to have rammed the vehicle with his own pickup truck during an 18-kilometer high-speed chase on February 28, 2022.

Velasquez allegedly fired multiple shots at the vehicle with a .40-caliber pistol, missing his target and wounding Goularte’s stepfather, Paul Bender, who was driving. Goularte’s mother, Patricia, was also in the vehicle.

He was arrested without incident after a chase and released from jail in November 2022 after posting $1 million bail pending trial.

Velasquez (left) chased and fired multiple shots into a vehicle occupied by Harry Goularte (right). Goularte is accused of sexually abusing the fighter’s then 4-year-old son.

Velasquez was released from jail in November 2022 on $1 million bail while he awaited trial

Goularte continues to face charges of child abuse. He pleaded not guilty in June 2022.

In February, Velasquez’s son told police that Goularte had taken him to the bathroom at a Patty’s Childcare daycare in San Martin, a 34-minute drive south of San Jose, and then sexually assaulted him by touching his genitals, court documents show.

The minor further said that Goularte had asked him not to tell anyone about the incident and that this situation could have happened “a hundred times.”

The child also reportedly told police that Goularte had gone to the bathroom with other children. He has already been charged with a felony count of indecent and lascivious act for child abuse, TMZ reported.