Cain Velasquez, the former UFC heavyweight champion, has been granted bail after spending nearly eight months in prison on attempted murder and ten other gun-related charges stemming from a February shooting.
A court in Santa Clara, California, granted bail at $1 million and ordered Velasquez to wear a GPS monitor and remain away from the gunshot victims in the case.
Velasquez was arrested on Feb. 28 for reportedly attempting to shoot Harry Goularte, a former daycare employee, outside his house in San Martin, California.
Goularte is accused of molesting Velasquez’s four-year-old son sexually.
Velazquez pleaded not guilty to the allegations in August.
Velasquez’s bail was refused in each of his previous pre-trial appearances.
Over 30 people wrote to a judge on Velasquez’s behalf in March, begging that he be permitted to post bond.
UFC president Dana White, Bellator MMA president Scott Coker, and WWE Superstar Rey Mysterio were among those who spoke out in his defense, but bail was denied.
The court granted bail on Tuesday, citing “among other things, Velasquez’s spotless past criminal background, and his role as a parent.”
In June, Velasquez filed a civil lawsuit against Goularte on behalf of his son alleging that “on numerous occasions” from 2021 to 2022 Goularte “sexually abused, molested, touched and harassed” the child. Goularte’s mother and stepfather, who owned the daycare where the alleged molestation took place, were also named as defendants in the lawsuit.
A Santa Clara court granted a delay in the lawsuit in September until Nov. 14.
Goularte, 43, pleaded not guilty to one felony count of indecent conduct with a juvenile under the age of 14.