Plea deal ‘very close’ in SJSU sexual assault trial that ended in hung jury
SAN JOSE – Four days after a mistrial was declared in San Jose State’s sexual assault trial, former head athletic trainer Scott Shaw is nearing a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to at least one of six federal charges.
“We think we are very close if not there,” Shaw’s defense lawyer, Dave Callaway, told the judge Monday morning. “But Mr. Shaw needs time to talk to his family.”
After the two-week trial that ended last week with a hung jury – with at least 10 of the 12 jury members voting to convict – one of the jurors came to observe the Monday court proceeding and pumped his fist at the news. “Yes!’’ he said.
“I’m thrilled. You’re going to do a retrial or a change of plea. Either way it bodes well for the victims,” said the male juror, one of the eight-woman, four-man jury who didn’t want to be identified. “And hopefully that’ll close things out.”
Neither Callaway nor Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Pitman would say what kind of deal they were close to or to how many charges Shaw might plead guilty. But if the talks break down or Shaw changes his mind, Pitman told the judge he is ready to set a date for a new trial.
Shaw, 56, had pleaded not guilty to six federal charges of violating the constitutional right to “bodily integrity” of four former female Spartan athletes who accused Shaw of touching them inappropriately inside their bras and underwear under the guise of treatment. They were the latest victims to come forward – and did so within the five-year statute of limitations. But more than two dozen other former athletes, including 17 swimmers, had accused Shaw of the same thing going back to at least 2009.
An internal San Jose State University investigation, which was later widely lambasted as inadequate, had cleared him in 2010, concluding that Shaw’s “trigger point therapy” was legitimate treatment. An ongoing crusade against Shaw by swim coach Sage Hopkins ultimately led in 2020 to investigations by the Cal State system and the U.S. Department of Justice, which found that the women were victims of sexual assault. That led to more than $5 million in legal settlements to the victims and the resignations of the university president and athletic director. Shaw voluntarily retired in 2020 as the scandal became public.
Eight former athletes testified during the trial, with several breaking down in tears as they spoke about Shaw groping their breasts for shoulder injuries and groins for back injuries.
If Shaw changes his plea to guilty, a sentencing date will be set and victims will have the opportunity to either submit written statements or appear in court to voice their opinions.
The civil rights charges are misdemeanors and each carries up to a year in prison.
In interviews with the Bay Area News Group after U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman declared a mistrial last Thursday, several jurors, including the foreman, explained their frustration with one juror in particular who announced at the start of deliberations that she believed Shaw was innocent and nothing would change her mind. The woman – a 53-year-old engineer – barely deliberated after that, jurors said, leading the foreman to try, unsuccessfully, to have her removed for not performing her duty. The jury deadlocked 11-1 on one count and 10-2 on the other five.
“It was three weeks of my life,” the juror who came to court Monday said, “and a lifetime of frustration.”