After hearing three days of testimony, an Albemarle County Circuit Court jury convicted University running back Antwoine Womack Dec. 16 of misdemeanor assault and battery of former University student Jonathon Dean.
According to court documents, the jury fixed punishment at a $1,000 fine while refraining from convicting Womack of the two felony charges of malicious wounding originally raised against him by the Commonwealth.
Had Womack been convicted of malicious wounding, he could have faced up to 40 years in prison.
Womack's co-defendants, former University defensive back Adrian Burnim and Charlottesville resident Kevin Cromartie, were also convicted of assault and battery but with jury recommended sentences of six months of jail time.
Though there are no regulations prohibiting Womack's participation in next season's football schedule, Department of Athletics officials have declined to announce whether Womack will return to play for the University.
Womack has been on a leave of absence from the football team since late April.
The defendants' convictions stem from a Feb. 7 group assault of Dean and then fourth-year University student Cabral Thornton near Clark Hall.
According to police officials, the victims suffered bumps, abrasions and lacerations due to the assault.
Dean suffered from internal bleeding and Thornton had a visible scar on his face after the attack.
Womack, Burnim and Cromartie all pleaded not guilty to the indictments of felonious malicious bodily harm.
Suspended University students John Duckett and Devon Simmons pleaded guilty to charges of misdemeanor assault and battery in March and agreed to testify for Womack's trial in hopes of avoiding harsher sentences.
The December decision marks Womack's second conviction. His first came after a Charlottesville General Circuit Court found him guilty of assault and battery for improperly touching a female at a November 1998 party.
However, Bill Berkley, the judge presiding, suspended Womack's sentence for one year on terms of good behavior. His probation expired just two weeks before his involvement in the February assault.
University Judiciary Committee Chairman Brian Hudak said Womack could be subject to a UJC trial for his involvement in the assault.
Physical assault is a violation of Standard One of the Standard of Conduct with possible punishments varying from "oral admonition to expulsion," Hudak said.
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