Editor’s note: The livestream of this trial could include graphic language and visuals that might be disturbing to some viewers. The trial of New England Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers is expected to begin Thursday following an unexpected delay at the courthouse in Quincy, Massachusetts, a day earlier. The 29-year-old NFL player, who signed a three-year extension with the Patriots last summer, is accused of assaulting a woman last fall after a sexual encounter. His trial was scheduled to get underway Wednesday with jury selection, but was postponed after a water main break at Quincy District Court. Prior to the start of jury selection on Thursday morning, Peppers pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of cocaine. That case was continued without a finding for four months, with the stipulation that he must remain drug-free while on probation. Prosecutors had asked for a six-month continuance, but the judge sided with the defense. Peppers will continue to be drug tested as part of the NFL’s protocol and there will no travel restrictions, allowing him to return home to New Jersey. Marc Brofsky, Peppers’ defense attorney, said when his client was arrested he was placed in the NFL’s substance abuse program, which he said is more strict than any probation the court would impose. He was randomly tested up to 10 times a month — sometimes more — from October until he was discharged from the program at the end of December. Peppers has pleaded not guilty to the other charges he is facing, including assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and strangulation. Six jurors were selected from a pool of 43, and opening arguments in the trial got underway shortly before 11 a.m. Thursday. Prosecutors said they plan to call three witnesses — the alleged victim and two police officers. The defense said it might call an expert but has not decided yet if it will do so. Peppers is also expected to testify in his own defense. According to police reports and court documents, during the early morning hours of Oct. 5, 2024, Peppers allegedly pushed a woman to the ground, shoved her head into a wall and repeatedly choked her after she received a phone call while they were in bed together. Peppers has denied the woman’s account, and his defense has said that he has cellphone videos of the woman that show she had no signs of serious injury, proving that he didn’t commit the crimes he’s accused of. Peppers told police he believed the woman was making the allegations to destroy his NFL career, and his attorney said in court in November that the victim had filed a $10.5 million civil suit. Opening statements In her opening statement, Assistant Norfolk District Attorney Abigail Bird said the victim was grabbed by the neck, had her head slammed against the wall and later pushed down the stairs by Peppers, all while she was completely naked. She said the victim met Peppers in 2022 and they had sexual relations on a number of occasions since then. On Oct. 4, Bird said the victim went to a club in Allston and left with Peppers and went home with him. While at the house, they had sex and she then got a phone call form another man. Prosecutors said that phone call enraged Peppers and he immediately told her to get out of his house. Shortly afterward, they began to argue about the phone call, and the argument became physical. Peppers then began to film the victim with his cell phone on and off, telling her to get out of his house. She then went outside and called police. The first officer who responded to the scene found the vitim “barefoot and visibly upset, with a scrape on her knee and redness to the side of her face,” Bird said. Peppers was arrested soon after. Brofsky began his opening by noting that Peppers “like anyone else arrested or charged, has had to be patient,” waiting three months or so since his initial arrest to present his side of the story. “I’m going to ask you to be patient,” he told the jury. “There’s a lot more to this case than what the Commonwealth says. There’s going to be a lot more evidence. Brofsky said there was really “no investigation whatsover,” and Peppers was placed in handcuffs without being asked a single question. He said Peppers was not in a dating relationship with the victim, but they had a consensual sexual relationship. He also described a series of phone calls the victim received while they were having sex that night. But he said Peppers became upset not because of those phone calls, but because the victim tried on multiple occasions to have unprotected sex with him. He told her to get out of his house and said he would call her an Uber. Brofsky acknowledged that Peppers was “not his best self at this point” and became angry with the victim. He said Peppers began taking video of the victim at this point because the NFL advises players to do so when in situations like this. He said the victim grabbed for Peppers’ phone, he pulled away, and she fell in the hallway right outside his bedroom door. Soon after, he begins recording the encounter on his phone. “He must have asked her 20 or 30 times to get out,” Brofsky said. Soon after, he said the woman slapped Peppers in the face. Brofsky said in the videos, the victim does say that Peppers grabbed her by the neck and threw her against the wall, but Peppers denies it. He also said the victim still didn’t leave at this time, and is seen on video smiling and laughing afterward. After Peppers was arrested, Brofsky said an ambulance was called for the victim. He said her injuries were “next to nothing,” and said emergency medical personnel only spent about 5 minutes at the scene evaluating her. He said the medical report showed she was found with no acute distress despite the assault she described. She denied losing consciousness or feeling dizzy and had only slight swelling to her right cheek and minor scratches on her knee. She declined transport to the hospital. “The evidence is not going to show that she was brutally beaten, that her injuries are in any way consistent with Jabrill Peppers doing what she says,” Brofsky said. “There are no legitimate, serious injuries. if Jabrill Peppers had smashed her head against the wall, thrown her down the stairs and choked her, there would be some injuries, there would be some marks, there would be redness on her neck. You don’t have that.” Brofsky also referenced the civil lawsuit the victim has filed against Peppers, saying, “She’s trying to get paid, she’s trying to get a windfall.” Victim testifies The victim in the case took the stand shortly before 11:30 a.m. She testified about when they first met in 2022 and about several of their past dates and sexual encounters. She also spoke about the last time she interacted with Peppers prior to Oct. 4, 2024. She said they communicated by text, and Peppers accused her of sleeping with one of his teammates. She said she denied having sex with his teammate, and they went back and forth over text messages, calling each other names. The victim also described the night of the alleged assault, saying she ran into him at a restaurant in the North End and they later went to a club together in Allston. At the end of the night, she went back with him to his apartment in Braintree. She said they began having sex, and during that time she received three phone calls from a male friend, at which point she said Peppers became upset and asked her to leave. She said she then called Peppers a name she shouldn’t have. After that, she said, “He grabbed me by the neck and slammed me against the wall.” He then let her go and she said she fell to the ground. She said he later pushed her down a staircase. She teared up as she described the incident, saying she didn’t leave immediately when he asked her to because she wasn’t wearing any clothes. She said she was eventually able to get dressed and go outside, where she called police as Peppers filmed the incident on his cellphone. Under cross examination, Brofsky attempted to cast doubt on the victim’s description of the alleged assault by asking questions about specific details about the incident. He also cited several of the videos that Peppers shot, citing specific time stamps and trying to tie them to each incident the victim was describing. He also asked the victim what she had to drink that night, and she said she had two espresso martinis and multiple shots of alcohol at the first location, along with other drinks at the club. More on the Jabrill Peppers case New England Patriots Oct 7, 2024 Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers arrested on assault charges