Former Rider pleads guilty to assaulting partner

A little over a year since it happened, Justin Cox is admitting to assaulting his former partner.

The former Roughrider changed his not guilty plea on a charge of assault causing bodily harm, to guilty on Wednesday morning.

The charge stemmed from an incident at the end of August 2017. Regina police said officers were called to a hospital where a 23-year-old woman was being treated. A witness had reportedly seen the victim and a man who was later determined to be Cox, fighting. The woman jumped in the witness’ car and he drove her to the hospital.

In court Wednesday morning, the Crown lawyer called the assault domestic violence and said the victim had a broken nose. He said he’ll be seeking jail time for Cox.

In court, Cox’s lawyer asked for a pre-sentence report, saying there are personal circumstances he would want to explore and that he’ll be looking at options for restorative justice.

When asked outside court, Cox’s lawyer declined to explain the change of plea – saying it will come out during the sentencing.

Cox will be sentenced on this charge in November.

The assault charge isn’t the only one Cox is dealing with. There is also a charge for assault with a weapon from the same day in August 2017, which will be heard in December. Cox is also being charged with two counts of breach of recognizance.

Prior domestic violence charges

In May 2017 Cox was found not guilty in another domestic violence charge – the judge found there was no evidence to support the charge.

That first charge was enough to get him kicked off the Riders’ roster, and despite the acquittal, head coach Chris Jones said Cox would not be allowed back on the team.

Jones cited Cox’s two previous domestic violence charges.

CORRECTION: This story has been corrected to reflect that Cox was found not guilty of the charge stemming from April 2017. A previous version said the charge was dropped.