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Wrestling Coach Accused to Raping 2 Boys Held on 369 Counts

Wrestling Coach Accused to Raping 2 Boys Held on 369 Counts

 

 

It’s becoming more and more apparent with each passing day that combat sports are fertile grounds for predatory coaching stuff.

The latest to have been uncovered is Ron Gorman, 51 from Stroudsburg (later relocated to Georgia). The sheer number of charges alone is staggering – 369 counts accuse him of raping and sexually abusing 2 boys begining in 2006 when they were aged 10, Lehighvalleylive.com reports.

Gorman was a wrestling coach, and the two were his wrestling students. According to court paperwork, the alleged abuse of both victims happened in a number of different places, including Gorman’s home in Monroe County, various hotels throughout the Poconos, even out of state wnep.com reports.

Gorman, arraigned Wednesday, 36 counts of rape of a child and hundreds of other sexual offenses, in a story first reported by the Pocono Record.

The alleged abuse dates to 2006 in Monroe County. The alleged victims, two boys, ages 10 and 11 at the time.

In the recorded phone call, Gorman allegedly said he had “a little bit of guilt” but “the trick is not to talk about it.” Gorman allegedly added he was worried the crimes would be reported to police.

The police is currently investigating several simlar allegations against Gorman dating as far back as 1980s when he went by a different name – Ron Rarick and was a Stroudsbourg area martial arts instructor.

“The charges that have been lodged against Mr. Gorman speak for themselves. He is just not safe for the community,” said Monroe County Assistant District Attorney Julieane Fry.

Meanwhile the lawyer for the defense insisted Gorman is nothing short of rolemodel:

“The indications are that this is a gentleman who was nothing but a fantastic role model for the vast majority of children for the last 30-plus years and the amount of digging that had to be done by the commonwealth to find two people to say something not of that nature or character is significant,” said defense attorney Brett Riegel.

Besides rape of a child, Gorman is also charged with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault of a child under 13 years old, indecent assault of a child under 16 years old, statutory sexual assault and unlawful contact of a minor, and one count of corruption of a minor 18 years old or older.

According to court records:

A state trooper interviewed an alleged victim Feb. 15. The now-20-year-old man told the trooper he was in the wrestling program a decade ago when Gorman was an assistant coach.

The man told the trooper that he came from a poor home life, but Gorman made him feel like part of his family, taking him out to dinner and on family trips.

It was at a hotel with Gorman and Gorman’s children when he was first sexually abused, the man said. After Gorman’s children fell asleep, Gorman performed a sex act on him and Gorman then pressured the boy to do the same to him.

The sexual assaults continued for three years on an almost weekly basis, whenever Gorman’s wife was not around, the man told police. They happened mostly in Monroe County, but also during vacations and in Georgia when Gorman moved there, he told police.

Gorman was hired in 2012 as an assistant wrestling coach at Life University in Marietta. He was serving as director of wrestling at the college in 2014, MDJ archives show.

Officials in Monroe County believe there might be more victims out there.

“We would hope that they would come forward, but we understand and respect their privacy,” said Fry.

According to the judge, because Gorman is a potential flight risk and because of the charges against him, bail was set at $1 million.

Gorman is currently locked up at the Monroe County Correctional Facility.