Alleged Syracuse Victim Claims Sex Abuse Took Place In City Hotel
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -A child sex abuse investigation involving Syracuse University has resulted in the assistant basketball coach being fired.
Bernie Fine has been fired after a third alleged victim came forward this weekend.
The accuser is claiming Fine took him on a trip to Pittsburgh and that he was sexually molested in a local hotel the night before Syracuse played Pitt in January of 2002.
The game was played at the Fitgerald Field House and Pitt won the game.
However, according to now 23-year-old Zach Tomaselli of Lewiston, Maine, he was in the stands after having gone through a traumatic experience the night before.
"Early January of 2002, my parents called me up to their room and told me that coach Fine had called them and offered for me to go down with Syracuse on a road trip to Pittsburgh and I was pretty excited about it," Tomaselli said.
He was 14-years-old at the time.
He said the trip with coach Fine went well until after dinner when he was invited to the coach's hotel room and the coach put on a pornographic movie.
"Probably five to 10 minutes into watching this show, he put his hand down my shorts and began to fondle me," Tomaselli said.
However, Tomaselli is facing sexual assault charges of his own involving a 14-year-old boy.
His father, Fred Tomaselli said he thinks his son is lying in a telephone interview after the story broke.
"He's just an angry, bitter person who's getting caught in his lies and addiction," Fred Tomaselli said. "Bernie definitely never had any contact with Zach. I never brought him to a game in Pittsburgh."
Zach Tomaselli said he stands by his story and that he was inspired to come forward after the Jerry Sandusky case at Penn State came to light.
According to an ESPN report, Fine's wife was aware of the alleged sexual abuse and may have also engaged in sexual relations with one of the alleged victims.
RELATED LINKS
More Local News
More Sports News
More Reports From Harold Hayes
