UFC veteran and former WEC lightweight champion Hermes Franca has been arrested in Oregon on several charges of sexual abuse. The arrest was originally reported by Examiner.com on Thursday.
MMAWeekly.com confirmed the report with a Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office official, who said that Franca had turned himself in.
Franca is charged with seven counts of Sexual Abuse in the first degree (ORS.163.427) and two counts of Unlawful Sexual Penetration in the second degree (ORS.163.408). Each crime is a Class B felony that falls under Oregon’s Measure 11, which requires mandatory minimum sentences for conviction of serious crimes.
Franca faces a mandatory minimum sentence of six years, three months for each of the charges if convicted.
The Examiner report indicated that Franca had entered a not guilty plea, but the sheriff’s office official told MMAWeekly.com that he did not have a record of his plea available.
Franca’s bail has been set at $250,000. The sheriff’s office official said that Franca’s trial is set for July 12, 2011.
Franca was the WEC lightweight champion prior to the promotion’s acquisition by Zuffa. He also is a veteran of the UFC.
He was scheduled to face Drew Fickett at MFC 30 for the promotion’s vacant lightweight championship on June 10 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. But his current arrest and fighting outside of the organization led MFC president Mark Pavelich to announce his termination on Thursday.
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