Jiu-jitsu coach and The Ultimate Fighter 18 contestant Rafael de Freitas is no longer facing jail time after a prosecutor filed a motion not to pursue a third-degree criminal sexual penetration charge.
De Freitas, an Albuquerque, N.M., resident who’s coached several high-profile fighters, initially was arrested this past December after a female client accused him of drugging and raping her during a private lesson. Prosecutors were denied a motion to detain him during trial after his defense attorney Jason Bowles argued the alleged assault was a consensual affair.
The prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Allysa Gambarella of the Second Judicial District Attorney’s office, wrote in the nolle prosequi (unwilling to prosecute) motion, “While probable cause existed at the time of arrest, additional investigation has revealed that, at this time, there exists and insufficient factual basis to meet the State’s burden at trial,” according to the filing obtained by MMA Fighting.