Ex-UFC champ Cain Velasquez issues first statement since arrest

Cain Velasquez, former UFC heavyweight champion, has spoken out for the first time since his arrest.

Just hours before his plea hearing on Tuesday, Velasquez issued a statement thanking his supporters, and encouraging the “true victims” to come forward and speak the truth. He also described his story as “complex and slowly unraveling,” and mentioned that he will never stop helping his people.

“To everyone that has expressed your support, my family and I will never be able to thank you enough,” Velasquez wrote. “From the bottom of our hearts and the depths of our souls, we are grateful for your love. Your selfless gestures and kind words have given me strength in my darkest times. This story is complex and slowly unraveling as we speak.

To the true victims of this case, may God give you the strength to come forward. Though it is most difficult to relive the pain that has happened to you, in speaking the truth, justice will be served and your own true healing can start. I will never stop helping or loving my community and all of you. Thank you for loving me.”

The 39-year-old was arrested Feb. 28 and charged with attempted murder after firing shots at a vehicle that targeted a 43-year-old man, Harry Goularte, who had molested a child related to Velasquez.

While targeting Goularte, Velasquez struck the man’s stepfather instead. After being denied bail at his first hearing in March, Judge Shelyna Brown called Velasquez’s actions “reckless.”

Velasquez: “justice will be served”

Goularte, who is charged with “a lewd and lascivious act with a child under the age of 14″, is expected to have his plea hearing at the same courthouse on Wednesday. He has been out on bail since the incident.

Read more on Velasquez here.