By Alicia Cruz
The Black Urban Times
Former basketball coach at Christ the King Regional High School, Bob Oliva, was indicted by a Massachusetts grand jury Thursday on two counts of rape of a child and disseminating pornography to a minor. That charges carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Oliva resigned last year.
Michael Doolin is representing Oliva and expects his client to be arraigned sometime in April. He maintains his clients innocence.
"Bob Oliva looks forward to his day in court. We have every expectation that when a jury is presented with the facts, he will be acquitted," Doolin told The Daily News.
"He wants to get his name cleared," Doolin added. "He looks forward to coming to Massachusetts and going before a jury of his peers and clearing his name."
The names of victims of sexual assault are never released to the public, but a man named Jimmy Carlino, now an adult, told the Daily News last year that Oliva, was his coach at St. Teresa of Avila youth basketball program in Queens and that Oliva molested him for several years during the 1970s.
Carlino also told the Daily News about an incident that took place in Boston when Carlino accompanied Oliva to a Yankees-Red Sox game at Fenway Park in 1976. The grand jury indictment handed down stems from a trip Oliva took to Boston that year.
Carlino and two other men who claimed they were abused by Oliva testified before the grand jury. Allen Watson, the former Mets and Yankees pitcher who served as Christ the King's baseball coach, also testified before that grand jury.
Father Bob Hoston, a priest that is counseling Carlino, told the Daily News, "Jimmy has all the conflicting emotions that sex abuse survivors have. He's nervous and he is excited. Bob Oliva was like a big brother to him, a protector, and he betrayed all that. Jimmy is sorry this had to be done but he is glad justice will be done and he can get on with his recovery. He seemed relieved that something is happening, and that a group of people believed him and handed up an indictment."
Prosecutors in New York cannot prosecute Oliva because the statute of limitations has expired. Massachusetts, on the other hand, can if they found evidence that Oliva had abused Carlino; the statute of limitations in that state ceases once a suspect leaves the state.
Oliva, 65, was one of the most well-known and most influential basketball coaches in New York City for over 20 years when he resigned in January 2009, citing health problems caused by the strain of the sex abuse allegations.
Oliva won four CHSAA Class AA inter-sectional titles and coached dozens of Division I college players, several who played in the NBA like, Jayson Williams, Lamar Odom and Speedy Claxton.
If convicted of all charges, Oliva may spend the rest of his life in prison.
Oliva resigned last year.
Michael Doolin is representing Oliva and expects his client to be arraigned sometime in April. He maintains his clients innocence.
"Bob Oliva looks forward to his day in court. We have every expectation that when a jury is presented with the facts, he will be acquitted," Doolin told The Daily News.
"He wants to get his name cleared," Doolin added. "He looks forward to coming to Massachusetts and going before a jury of his peers and clearing his name."
The names of victims of sexual assault are never released to the public, but a man named Jimmy Carlino, now an adult, told the Daily News last year that Oliva, was his coach at St. Teresa of Avila youth basketball program in Queens and that Oliva molested him for several years during the 1970s.
Carlino also told the Daily News about an incident that took place in Boston when Carlino accompanied Oliva to a Yankees-Red Sox game at Fenway Park in 1976. The grand jury indictment handed down stems from a trip Oliva took to Boston that year.
Carlino and two other men who claimed they were abused by Oliva testified before the grand jury. Allen Watson, the former Mets and Yankees pitcher who served as Christ the King's baseball coach, also testified before that grand jury.
Father Bob Hoston, a priest that is counseling Carlino, told the Daily News, "Jimmy has all the conflicting emotions that sex abuse survivors have. He's nervous and he is excited. Bob Oliva was like a big brother to him, a protector, and he betrayed all that. Jimmy is sorry this had to be done but he is glad justice will be done and he can get on with his recovery. He seemed relieved that something is happening, and that a group of people believed him and handed up an indictment."
Prosecutors in New York cannot prosecute Oliva because the statute of limitations has expired. Massachusetts, on the other hand, can if they found evidence that Oliva had abused Carlino; the statute of limitations in that state ceases once a suspect leaves the state.
Oliva, 65, was one of the most well-known and most influential basketball coaches in New York City for over 20 years when he resigned in January 2009, citing health problems caused by the strain of the sex abuse allegations.
Oliva won four CHSAA Class AA inter-sectional titles and coached dozens of Division I college players, several who played in the NBA like, Jayson Williams, Lamar Odom and Speedy Claxton.
If convicted of all charges, Oliva may spend the rest of his life in prison.
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