Legendary New York coach pleads guilty to sex assault

Laura Crimaldi Boston Herald 04/04/2011 19:51

A legendary New York City high school basketball coach was sentenced to five years of probation today after pleading guilty to charges he sexually molested a 14-year-old boy while at a Boston hotel in 1976 for a Red Sox-Yankees game.

After the hearing, Suffolk Superior Court Judge Carol Ball embraced the victim. He said she told him he delivered the best victim-impact statement she’s ever heard.

The man delivered the statement in front of supporters, including former Major League Baseball pitcher Allen Watson, 40, who says Oliva showed him pornography and masturbated in front of him while he was his baseball and basketball coach. Watson has hired civil attorney Mitchell Garabedian. He said Oliva never molested him.

A Suffolk County grand jury indicted Oliva last March on two counts of statutory rape of a child and one count of distributing pornography, said Jake Wark, a spokesman for Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley. The law stops the statute of limitations on criminal cases when a suspect leaves the state, Wark said.

Oliva will serve the sentence in South Carolina, where he now lives. Ball ordered him to comply with S.C. laws related to sex offender registration and GPS monitoring.

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