2001 and 2002 charges According to
DuPage County (Illinois) court records, in June 2001, Pierce was arrested and had to post bail on charges of criminal defacement and mob action for allegedly spray-painting his high school, although Pierce disputes the records. In September 2002, Pierce was charged with one count of third-degree sexual assault in
Iowa City. He was arrested on October 1. On September 7, a report was filed by a woman who was treated at a hospital emergency room the day before. She accused Pierce, an acquaintance, of performing unwanted sex acts on her at a party at his Iowa City apartment on September 6. He was subsequently suspended indefinitely from the Iowa Hawkeyes by athletic department officials, of assault causing injury in a sexual assault. He received no jail time, but received a deferred judgment, so the charge was erased from his record after he successfully completed a year of probation, counseling and 200 hours of community service, the requirements of the plea agreement. He later apologized publicly for engaging in "inappropriate sexual conduct with a fellow student." actions Pierce's attorney Alfredo Parrish labeled "absolutely ridiculous" because "[they] don't know the facts" before "[reaching] a conclusion." Pierce was back in uniform with the team in August 2003, in a return for the 2003–04 season, in which he led the Hawkeyes on a five-game tour of
Australia. In those games, he averaged 20.8 points a game on better than 50-percent shooting, and almost 5 rebounds per game. At the time, Pierce was the leading scorer on the team averaging 17.8 points per game, Pierce remained on scholarship and was still attending classes. Pierce's attorney Alfredo Parrish sought dismissal of the most serious of the charges, first-degree burglary, a felony that carries a maximum penalty of up to 25 years upon conviction. Because the first-degree burglary charges and the assault charges are felonies, a conviction would mean Pierce could have been sentenced to up to 56 years Months later, fresh evidence surfaced that Pierce made more than 200 phone calls to his ex-girlfriend in March and April, which violated a no-contact order. He was sentenced on October 28, 2005, to a five-year suspended sentence on the burglary charge, two years on the assault charge and one year each for
false imprisonment and criminal mischief, the sentences to be served concurrently. Pierce served 332 days (11 months) of a 2-year sentence at Iowa's
Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility on September 24, 2006. Pierce originally sought early release but learned he was denied on August 7, 2006, thus delaying his freedom for several weeks. He received time off for good behavior and participation in prison treatment programs in which he played impressively, averaging 21.5 points in his first two games. Because the terms of his probation prevented him from leaving Iowa to pursue a career with the
NBA, his participation in the
Nevada-based summer league was a violation, which resulted in him being sentenced in April 2008 to 30 days' jail.) in their
top professional league in which he averaged 13.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 30 French League games. In July 2010 he signed a one-year deal with Greek club
Aris BC. In February 2011 he signed with
BC Azovmash. He last played for l'Angers Basket Club in France in 2014–15 season. == References ==