Former Leilehua High School football player Rico Newman, charged earlier this year with raping and kidnapping his girlfriend, pleaded guilty yesterday to reduced charges that will allow him to attend a community college in California on a football scholarship.

The plea agreement came about because the victim in the case recanted her testimony against Newman and has since married him, Deputy Prosecutor Leilani Tan said.

The couple have one child and are expecting another, Tan said.

The rape charge was reduced to abuse of a family member, a misdemeanor, and the kidnapping count was dropped to unlawful imprisonment, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Newman, 19, will be permitted to seek a deferred acceptance of his guilty plea to the felony charge — a legal arrangement that results in no criminal record if the defendant stays trouble-free for a five-year period of probation, Tan said.

Circuit Judge Richard Pollack accepted the plea agreement and will sentence Newman Dec. 14.

Tan said Newman "did express remorse" for his actions and has "enrolled in marriage and domestic violence counseling."

Tan said the case was complicated by the refusal of the victim to testify against Newman.

Shortly after Newman was charged, the victim "walked into the police station and recanted. She said nothing had happened," Tan said.

"We obviously didn't believe that," she said.

The victim "called our office regularly and asked that the charges be dropped," Tan said.

Prosecutors refused to do that and resolved the case in a way that "preserves" the possibility of a felony conviction for Newman, she said, and allows him to obtain a higher education.

Newman will attend Victor Valley College in Victorville, Calif., on a football scholarship. He will be monitored by the courts for five years of probation, Tan said. If he violates probation, the deferred plea would be revoked and Newman would be found guilty of a felony, she said.

Tan said her office had discussed the plea agreement with the football coach at Victor Valley.

Newman would not have received a scholarship if found guilty of a felony, she said.

Newman leaves for California next week and will return for sentencing during the Christmas break.