Former Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore avoided jail time on Tuesday, April 14, after a judge sentenced him to 18 months of probation in connection with the incident that ended his coaching career and triggered months of scrutiny around the University of Michigan football program.
According to ESPN, Moore, 40, was sentenced in Washtenaw County after pleading no contest last month to misdemeanor trespassing and malicious use of a telecommunications device involving a domestic relationship. In exchange, prosecutors dropped more serious charges, including felony home invasion and stalking.
District Court Judge J. Cedric Simpson said incarceration was not warranted but warned Moore that any violation of his probation could quickly change that.
“I don't believe, when I look at the entirety of this situation, that incarceration should be appropriate,” Simpson said during the hearing. “I warn you, Mr. Moore, should there be a violation, all bets are off.”
Moore was also ordered to pay just over $1,000 in fines and costs. In addition, he must continue counseling, avoid drugs and alcohol, surrender any firearms, and have no contact with Paige Shiver, the former Michigan staff member involved in the case.
The sentence follows a dramatic fall for Moore, who just four months ago was leading one of college football’s most prominent programs. Michigan fired him on December 10 after the university concluded he had engaged in an inappropriate relationship with Shiver, who worked as his executive assistant. The school later revealed Moore had also been terminated for giving “untruthful statements during investigative interviews.”
According to court records, Shiver ended the relationship on December 8. Two days later, prosecutors said Moore went to her apartment. Police initially alleged that Moore entered without permission, repeatedly contacted her, and threatened self-harm while holding knives.
Those allegations led to the original charges of home invasion, stalking, and breaking and entering.
Judge Simpson said that later evidence, including phone records and the fact that Shiver had previously given Moore the code to her apartment, changed how prosecutors viewed the case.
“The people could have just decided to proceed with this case and let the chips fall where they may,” Simpson said. “Instead, they did the right thing.”
Still, the judge made clear that Moore’s actions crossed a line.
“Frankly, Mr. Moore, you had no right to do what you did,” Simpson said. “I know she was placed in fear.”
Shiver, who did not attend the hearing, released a statement afterward saying the sentence failed to capture the seriousness of what happened.
“He broke into my apartment, crying, yelling, enraged, and came at me with knives,” she said. “I was threatened, and I feared for my life.”
Moore appeared in court alongside his wife, Kelli, who had previously called police on the day of the incident because she feared her husband was suicidal. Judge Simpson singled her out during sentencing, calling her support remarkable.
“The person who is saving you from the full wrath of this court is the person who you betrayed,” Simpson told Moore.
In a brief statement, Moore thanked his attorney, his faith, and “my beautiful wife, Kelli, for her support and strength to stand by me.”
