Zach Tomaselli, 23, told the student paper that he met Fine during an autograph session at the school, and Tomaselli's father struck up a conversation with the assistant coach in January 2002. Later that month, Tomaselli claims his father arranged for him to go with Fine on a road trip to Pittsburgh for a game. He says the abuse took place in the hotel room he shared with Fine. Tomaselli also says his father, Fred, had begun sexually abusing him before the alleged Fine abuse took place.
From the Collegian:
According to Tomaselli, Fine turned on a pornographic program and asked him if he liked what he was watching. "Each time I answered with a shrug. I felt a lot of shame about what I was watching. I felt like it was my fault for watching it," he said. He said Fine explained the process of ejaculation and began to pressure him into masturbating. Tomaselli had never masturbated before. "I was taught that masturbation is wrong," Tomaselli said. Fine asked if he needed help. "I said no," Tomaselli said. "It wasn't a defiant no. By the third time, I gave in." He said his father had been abusing him for months, and because of that, Fine's actions seemed appropriate. "I let him touch me," Tomaselli said.
Tomaselli says Fine fondled him periodically after that. When he awoke the next morning, Tomaselli tells the paper, Fine was already in a suit and said, "It's game day."
Fine has denied Tomaselli's allegations. Zach's father, Fred, says his son is lying about the abuse. And, the Associated Press is reporting, Zach Tomaselli, who is from Maine, is facing allegations that he molested a boy at a camp in that state.
ESPN reports that the elder Tomaselli told a Syracuse newspaper that the family has never met Fine, and that when he took his son to see Orange basketball games, they sat in bad seats, and his son never went with the team on any trips.
Zach Tomaselli says he spoke with Syracuse police for four hours on November 23 about the allegations. He also tells the Collegian that he waited until the statute of limitations expired to publicly accuse his father in order to spare him prosecution.
Zach Tomaselli is accused of abusing a 13-year-old boy at a camp where Tomaselli was a counselor. The AP reports that he faces 11 charges that included gross sexual assault, tampering with a victim, unlawful sexual contact, unlawful sexual touching and unlawful sexual contact. He has pleaded not guilty and is trying to convince the judge in that case — which is scheduled for trial next year — to suppress a videotaped confession he made.
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