LOS ANGELES, CA — A former professional basketball player and actor was sentenced to 90 years-to-life in prison this month for committing a string of violent sexual assaults, the Los Angeles Police Department announced.
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Rashid Byrd, who played for the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA Development League in the 2008-09 season and appeared in the Will Ferrell movie “Semi Pro,” was convicted March 1 for a series of violent sexual assaults that occurred in Los Angeles and Santa Clara counties between 2015 and 2020.
Byrd was also reportedly signed by the Sacramento Kings but was cut without playing a game for the team. Additionally, he appeared in the documentary “Bring Your ‘A’ Game.”
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According to detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division’s Special Assault Section, Byrd traded on his basketball career and semi-celebrity status to lure his victims.
“He started as a charmer, playing up his status as an athlete and pseudo-celebrity, but that quickly faded into rapes and violence,” said Detective Dara Brown, the lead investigator on the case.
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Byrd was arrested in September of 2020 after a woman reported that she sexually assaulted her. Investigators quickly learned that Byrd had a previous sexual assault conviction involving another victim and that he had been arrested in 2005 on suspicion of sexually assaulting a young woman in Washington, according to police. Detectives urged additional victims to come forward.
“The LAPD is grateful for the brave women who came forward to tell their stories,” Brown said. “While this investigation has gone on for years, we are thankful that Byrd is no longer on the streets.”
Brown added that efforts were made to locate all of Byrd’s victims and asked that anyone with information regarding his crimes contact her at (213) 486-6840 or email [email protected].
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