Alabama fan pleads guilty after sexually assaulting an LSU fan following the title game
Brian Downing, the Alabama fan who sexually assaulted a passed out LSU fan following the BCS National Championship game, pleaded guilty to two counts of obscenity and could face two years in jail.
Prosecutors reached a deal Tuesday before the scheduled start of Downing's trial. Downing will be sentenced in 45 days.
Downing was one of several people caught on camera taunting the LSU fan, who was drunk and was left incapacitated with his head on the counter of a Krystal Restaurant on Bourbon Street. However, when Downing unzipped his pants, exposed himself and began rubbing himself against the LSU fan's neck in what would ultimately become a viral video, Downing found himself in trouble with the law.
Downing turned himself in on Jan. 19 after Heath Taylor, the sheriff of Russell County, Ala., recognized the then-unidentified assailant as his cousin.
Downing had pleaded not guilty in May to charges of sexual battery and obscenity.
The unnamed LSU fan also sued Downing for damages. In the suit, the LSU fan said he suffered "mental anguish, humiliation, embarrassment, anxiety and depression… damage to reputation" and lost tuition payments "for having to withdraw from school."
Downing was originally charged with sexual battery, which could have landed him 10 years in jail.
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