Ray Rice has been accepted into a pretrial intervention program that will result in the dismissal of his assault charge if he completes the program.

Rice will have to attend the program for the minimum of one year. If he successfully completes it, the third-degree charge of aggravated assault stemming from the incident on Feb. 15 involving Janay Palmer, who is now his wife, will be dismissed.

The pretrial intervention program is a diversion program that permits certain defendants (particularly first-time ones) to avoid formal prosecution.