Zach Tomaselli was sentenced Wednesday to three years and three months in prison for sexually abusing a boy in Maine. He will begin serving his sentence April 18, according to an article published Wednesday by The Associated Press.

Police arrested Tomaselli on April 13, 2011, on charges of having sexual contact with a boy who attended a camp where Tomaselli was a counselor. The boy was 13 and 14 years old when the abuse occurred.

Tomaselli, 23, of Lewiston, Maine, accused Bernie Fine, former Syracuse University associate men’s basketball coach, of molesting him in a Pittsburgh hotel room in 2002 during an away game. He was the third accuser to step forward with allegations against Fine. Fine has denied the claims and has not been charged.

Much of Tomaselli’s sentence was suspended when he pleaded guilty to gross sexual assault, unlawful sexual contact and two other sex-related counts in December. His plea was part of an agreement that allowed seven other counts to be dropped as well.

At Wednesday’s hearing in Androscoggin County Superior Court in Maine, Tomaselli apologized to the victim and accepted full responsibility for his actions, according to the article.

Tomaselli told Maine Supreme Court Justice Robert Clifford that he used drugs and was angry because he was also sexually abused and his abusers weren’t brought to justice, according to the article.

‘I was always advised to leave out Bernie Fine as much as I could,’ Tomaselli said. ‘Today was not about Bernie Fine. Today was about the victim in this case, and it was a very sad day.

‘The only reason I brought up Bernie Fine is because I owed an explanation to the family that was there and to the judge,’ Tomaselli said. ‘I owed them an explanation as to why I did this.’

After getting counseling, Tomaselli said he understands he groomed the boy for a sexual relationship, according to the article. Tomaselli also said he intends to seek additional help.

Tomaselli said he was instructed not to further discuss his case to avoid violating his bail.

egsawyer@syr.edu

-Staff Writer Michael Cohen contributed reporting to this article. 

Published on April 11, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Liz: egsawyer@syr.edu | @3sawyer