By Tom Weir
USA Today
April 4, 2011
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2011/04/famed-prep-coach-pleads-guilty-to-sexual-abuse/1
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| Bob Oliva (right) stands with his attorney at today's court hearing. |
A once-revered New York coach of high school basketball pleaded guilty today to sexually abusing a teen player during a 1976 trip to Boston, but won't serve prison time.
The New York Daily News reports former Christ the King coach Bob Oliva must register as a sex offender and enter a treatment program. He was sentenced Monday to five years' probation after pleading guilty to two counts of child rape and one count of disseminating pornography to a minor. Oliva was indicted by a Boston grand jury last year and faced two life sentences.
The charges were initiated by Jimmy Carlino, whose attorney, Mitchell Garabedian, announced he had filed a $20 million lawsuit against Oliva, Christ the King High, the Diocese of Brooklyn, the Catholic Youth Organization and others.
Oliva won 549 in 27 seasons at Christ the King Regional High School and is widely considered one of the most important coaches in New York City basketball history. Several of his players -- including Lamar Odom and Jayson Williams -- went on to stellar college and NBA careers. He resigned in 2009, citing heart problems.
Carlino told the Daily News he met Oliva at the age of 7 and was abused for several years, starting at the age of 11.
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