Former Eskimo Braidwood sentenced for sexual assault, firearm charges

Former Edmonton Eskimos defensive tackle Adam Braidwood.

A former professional football player will be heading to prison, after pleading guilty to two charges in court Friday morning.

Former Edmonton Eskimo Adam Braidwood pleaded guilty to sexual assault and careless storage of a firearm.

In court Friday, the events that took place on December 2, 2010, the events that lead to the charges, were spelled out.

Court heard Friday that Braidwood and his girlfriend had been in a home, and had been arguing – and that the accused threatened the woman, saying he had taken a ‘significant’ amount of Valium.

At one point he said to the woman: “Don’t you know who I am? I could kill you.”

Braidwood also told her he had a gun in the house, and could kill her – he then forced her to perform sex acts.

At one point, court heard Braidwood had a revolver, loaded it with one bullet, spun it and then pointed it at his own foot.

He pulled the trigger and said “I guess that’s not the one.”

Braidwood’s lawyer said in court that this is the “low point” of his client’s life, saying Braidwood has significant remorse for his actions and is taking responsibility for them.

The former player for the Edmonton Eskimos also submitted a written apology to his former team, for what he called his 'lack of character'.

Both the Crown Prosecutor and defence asked for a prison sentence of 4.5 years.

In court Friday, Justice Eric Macklin agreed with the recommendations and Braidwood was sentenced to 4.5 years behind bars for the sexual assault charge, he was also sentenced to six months for the firearm charge, but that will be served concurrently.

With files from David Ewasuk