Eight adult survivors of childhood molestation have come forward, accusing a youth athletic coach of sexually assaulting them as young boys.

The most recent, a man who identifies himself by the pseudonym “Bruce Boe,” claims that Tony Sagona, a Little League and youth basketball coach in New York and New Jersey, “sexualized his relationship” with him beginning in 1991, when he was 16 years old. His complaint alleges that the “inappropriate conduct [continued] beyond the period that Plaintiff was a minor.”

Two of the remaining seven accusers had also been members of the same Little League team.

A Case of ‘Grooming’?

According to the lawsuit filing, the accused offered “friendship” to his victims, who believed that his “college contacts, mentoring, and tutelage” would help them in their athletic career aspirations and win college scholarships. Sagona allegedly “nurtured” his relationships by treating the boys to dinner out and offering them pocket money – ultimately seducing them into inappropriate sexual liaisons.

In addition to Sagona, Boe’s lawsuit names the team of which he and his two teammates were members, known as the “Jersey Shore Warriors,” the Amateur Athletic Association, and the Atlantic Club where Boe says employees should have been aware that molestation was going on. Other lawsuits are pending in New Jersey and New York.

The lawyer who represents Sagona’s alleged victims says he expects that more of the accused’s former players will soon come forward with additional allegations.

States Extend Statutes of Limitations for Molestation Cases

Sagona’s alleged victims began coming forward after New Jersey and New York made changes in their laws, allowing adults who were sexually abused or assaulted as minors to file civil lawsuits against their abusers, even when such events took place decades ago. While these laws were changed largely in response to the sex abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church, it has enabled survivors of all types of molestation to seek justice.

In New York, the Child Victims Act took effect in August of 2019, which is how five of Sagona’s alleged victims were able to bring legal action. Over 400 lawsuits were filed almost immediately as a result of this legislation, and thousands of cases are currently pending.

In December, New Jersey opened a two-year window in order to allow victims to pursue lawsuits against those they claim to have abused them; previously, most of such claims had been barred by the old statute of limitations.

Defendants Respond

So far, defendants in the current lawsuit have not made any formal statement in response to the allegations. Speaking through his own attorney in a Staten Island newspaper, Sagona denied all accusations, some of which go back as far as the 1970s. His defense lawyer said, “There was no abuse of any kind … [he] has devoted his life to helping young men succeed in sports, in college and even going to the pros.”

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.