The public masturbation case against Penn State basketball player Stanley Pringle ended yesterday, with Pringle entering a first-time offenders program that could clear his record.
As part of his acceptance into the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD), Pringle will receive one year of probation and be required to complete the program before he can request that his record be expunged, Centre County District Attorney Michael Madeira said.
Pringle, a guard for the Nittany Lions, faced charges of open lewdness and disorderly conduct in connection to a March incident in the Pattee Library in which a woman told police he masturbated in her presence, according to the criminal complaint.
Pringle's acceptance into the program does not constitute a guilty plea, Madeira said. However, he described it as "punishment without a verdict."
"I view ARD as accepting a responsibility for something," he said. "There needs to be a willingness to change your actions."
Pringle's attorney, William Fleming, could not be reached as of press time yesterday.
ARD is a common end to a case involving a third-degree misdemeanor charge such as open lewdness, said Assistant District Attorney Lance Marshall, who prosecuted the case.
"First-time, non-violent offenders -- this is typically their disposition," he said.
Brian Siegrist, sports information director for the men's basketball team, declined to comment about Pringle's disposition yesterday. Pringle was never suspended from the basketball team.
"[Pringle] has cooperated fully with authorities, and it wouldn't be fair to make any further statements or judgements until all the facts have been ascertained and the judicial process has had a chance to work,"
Penn State men's basketball coach Ed DeChellis wrote in a statement issued shortly after Pringle was charged this past spring.
Marshall declined to comment about how the alleged victim in Pringle's case felt about his acceptance into ARD. In a sex offense case such as Pringle's, Marshall usually doesn't divulge his conversations with victims, he said.
Though counseling is usually recommended as part of ARD, it is not required of program members, Madeira said.
Pringle's charges stemmed from a March 27 incident in Pattee Library, according to the criminal complaint. According to the complaint, the victim told police an unknown man, whom police later identified as Pringle, sat behind her in the stacks section, attempted to start a conversation and then began masturbating.
In his conversation with the victim, Pringle asked her if she wanted to purchase some hand lotion he was selling for the basketball team, according to the complaint.
The victim then reported hearing a "smacking sound, like Pringle's hand was smacking against the skin of his body," according to the complaint. Police said she also told them Pringle began making moaning sounds after answering his cell phone.
When interviewed by police, Pringle initially denied being in the Pattee Library at the time of the incident, then remembered he had been there and recalled his conversation with the victim, police said. However, he denied he was masturbating and said he has a bad habit of putting his hands down his pants, according to the complaint.
"This is how I chill ma'am," Pringle told the investigating officer, placing his hand down the front of his sweatpants, according to the criminal complaint.
He also asked the officer: "Why would I need to masturbate?" according to the complaint.
Pringle, a Virginia Beach, Va., native, averaged 6.9 points per game and 2.3 assists per game last season for the Nittany Lions.
