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Former BU hockey player admits assaulting woman

Corey Trivino left Brighton District Court with his mother after pleading guilty to two counts of assault and battery.Josh Reynolds for The Boston Globe

Corey N. Trivino, the former top scorer for Boston University’s hockey team, was sentenced to two years of probation after a teary-eyed former student at the school testified in court Tuesday that her life was turned upside down when he cornered and assaulted her in her dorm room last December.

“Mr. Trivino’s actions have caused me more pain, suffering, and fear that I’ve ever experienced in my life,’’ said the woman, who identified herself in court, but whose name the Globe is withholding ­because she was the victim of a potential sex crime.

“Corey Trivino is wholly respon­sible for what happened, and it is up to this court to take appropriate action,’’ she said, ending her five-minute victim impact statement. She said she has suffered from nightmares, strained relationships with family and friends, and “a persistent state of hypervigilance and paranoia” because of the ­attack.

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But she indicated in court that she is in agreement with Trivino’s sentence of probation through ­August 2014. The sentence came through a plea agreement with prosecutors, in which Trivino pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and battery and a single count of trespassing.

Authorities initially charged Trivino, a second-round draft pick of the New York Islanders who ­expects to report to training camp in about a month, with assault with intent to rape, a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison, but prosecutors dropped those charges last March because of lack of evidence. Two indecent assault and battery charges were amended to assault and battery, and a breaking and entering charge was amended to trespassing.

Trivino, 22, appeared stone-faced as he listened to the victim, who stood at a podium about 10 yards directly in front of the table where the defendant sat with his lawyer.

After the victim’s statement, Trivino, wearing a black suit with a dark shirt, stood and ­offered an apology, as his mother and father, sitting behind him, watched.

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“I’m sorry for everything she had to go through because of that night,” he said. “. . . I’m ­really truly and deeply sorry for what happened.”’

Trivino’s lawyer, Conrad Bletzer, said of his client, “He clearly did have alcohol problems; he does have an alcohol problem.”

The victim said she was working as a resident adviser at a dormitory on 10 Buick St., and on Dec. 11 at about 11 p.m., she went to check on loud noises coming from a nearby room.

Trivino, who was born and raised in Canada, answered the door and was clearly intoxicated, the victim said. After a brief discussion in which she told him to quiet down, the victim said she returned to her dorm, but he followed her, pushed in her door, and entered her room.

According to a police report, Trivino groped her and forcibly kissed her. She ordered him to leave her room, and he did, but returned soon after and banged on her door. She opened the door and Trivino again pushed his way in and tried to kiss her, the victim told police. After being cornered, the victim said she pushed him away. Trivino left her room again, only to ­return a short time later.

The victim said that she opened the door again, feeling that she had to do so because she was the resident adviser. She said Trivino grabbed her arms tightly, then went to sit on her bed. Trivino took off his shoes, reclined on the bed, and told her he was going to sleep there overnight, she told police.

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When Trivino overheard the victim call the resident director, he put his shoes back on and left the room.

Two Boston University ­police officers arrested Trivino as they responded to the case.

Court records indicated that Trivino’s grandfather liquidated a portion of his pension to come up with $15,000 to pay for his grandson’s bail.

While on probation, Trivino is required to remain drug- and alcohol-free. He is slated to ­attend a ­National Hockey League camp later this year and would then fall under the NHL drug and alcohol testing rules. Trivino was drafted by the New York Islanders in 2008. Under the terms of his probation, ­Trivino is required to share the results of drug testing with his probation officer.

Trivino was kicked off the BU hockey team after his arrest and expelled from school. A student visa that allowed him to stay in the United States while he studied is no longer valid, and he will live at home in the Toronto area until he reports to training camp, according to court records.

His arrest and the arrest in February of then-BU hockey player Max Nicastro on rape charges led to an inquiry into the BU hockey program by top administrators at the school.

In June, prosecutors ended their case against Nicastro, writing in court papers that “the Commonwealth has concluded that the evidence will not permit the Commonwealth to meet its burden of proof ­beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.’’


Brian Ballou can be reached at bballou@globe.com.