The third person to accuse Bernie Fine of sexual abuse pleaded guilty to sexual assault charges Tuesday, according to an article in the Lewiston (Maine) Sun Journal.

Zach Tomaselli appeared in Androscoggin County Superior Court in Auburn, Maine, Tuesday afternoon and entered the guilty pleas to four charges. He pleaded guilty to gross sexual assault, unlawful sexual contact and two counts of sexual aggression against a child, according to the article. The charges stemmed from allegations that Tomaselli sexually abused a 13-year-old boy in 2009 and 2010.

Tomaselli’s sentence will be capped at no more than three years, three months with this plea deal, according to the article. Seven other charges were dropped as part of the deal, according to the article.

Tomaselli met with The Daily Orange in Auburn, Maine, on Dec. 3 and admitted to sexually abusing the boy. He said he became close with the boy while at Camp Connor in Poland, Maine, where Tomaselli was a counselor.

He was the third person to accuse Fine, the former Syracuse associate men’s basketball coach, of sexual abuse. Fine allegedly molested him in a hotel room in Pittsburgh in 2002, the night before Syracuse played an away game there. Tomaselli filed a lawsuit against Fine in Pittsburgh on Dec. 8, accusing him of sexual abuse.

Tomaselli has also publicly accused his father, Fred Tomaselli, of molesting him as a child. Both have denied the allegations.

mcooperj@syr.edu

Published on December 20, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Mark: mcooperj@syr.edu | @mark_cooperjr