Charleston

Girls Basketball Coach Pleads Guilty to Sexual Assault Charges

A former central Illinois girls youth basketball coach has pleaded guilty to sexual assault charges involving two former players.

Fifty-four-year-old Barry S. Wolfe of Martinsville, Illinois, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Coles County to four counts of criminal sexual assault. Prosecutors agreed to dismiss several other criminal sexual abuse charges he'd faced.

Wolfe allegedly engaged in sex acts with two of his former players from 2013 to 2015, when both were ages 17 and younger. He had coached the Central Illinois Storm, an American Athletic Union basketball program for girls age 17 and younger in Illinois and Indiana.

Coles County State's Attorney Brian Bower says the plea agreement will spare the young victims from needing to testify.

Wolfe is jailed without bond, awaiting a sentencing hearing that's scheduled for Aug. 10.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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