Brooklyn private school baseball coach groomed, sexually abused young players: D.A.

A shot manager astatine Packer Collegiate Institute, a Brooklyn backstage school, is accused of grooming and sexually abusing 7 young players connected a question squad helium ran, prosecutors said Thursday.

Nicolas Morton, 31, worked arsenic the caput manager astatine the $60,000-a-year tuition Brooklyn Heights school, and helium utilized that presumption to people the 12-to-14-year-old boys connected his question team, prosecutors successful Brooklyn allege.

He made the boys amusement him their genitals, and groped respective of them until the young victims came guardant earlier this year, prosecutors said.

Morton was deed with a 20-count indictment successful Brooklyn Supreme Court Thursday, connected charges of people of intersexual behaviour against a child, intersexual abuse, kid endangerment, forcible touching and unlawful imprisonment. He pleaded not blameworthy Thursday, and Judge Donald Leo released him connected $150,000 bond.

The Packer Collegiate Institute successful Brooklyn Heights, New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Morton “abused his presumption of powerfulness to maltreatment 7 young players connected his shot team,” Assistant D.A. Gwen Barnes said. “He groomed them by speaking to them astir sex, astir masturbation and astir different graphic topics.”

Morton’s alleged maltreatment occurred from the opening of 2023 done the summertime of 2024 during practices successful Packer’s gym and astatine respective Brooklyn shot fields, prosecutors alleged.

At first, he’d gag astir the squad members showing him their pubic hair, but those jokes became demands, some successful one-on-one sessions and successful a group, Barnes said.

He threatened to chopped the youngsters from the squad if they didn’t amusement him their pubic hairsbreadth oregon penises, and astatine times, he’d unit them into grueling signifier regimens. If they couldn’t implicit the practices, helium wouldn’t fto them permission unless they showed their genitals, Barnes said.

Three of the 7 boys accused Morton of touching their genitals oregon buttocks implicit their clothing, and 1 unfortunate said Morton touched him nether his clothes, Barnes said.

Rumors started circulating successful July, according to prosecutors, and the schoolhouse sacked Morton successful August.

The Packer Collegiate Institute was founded successful 1845. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Morton graduated from Packer successful 2012, and was a standout subordinate of the school’s varsity shot team. He besides worked for the schoolhouse arsenic an adjunct manager of admissions for respective years.

Packer representatives did not instrumentality a connection seeking remark Thursday.

Morton’s lawyer, Robert Georges, stressed that his lawsuit wasn’t a formation risk, pointing to the rows of household members who showed up to enactment him successful the courtroom, including his woman of much than 10 years, and noted helium comes from a “strong instrumentality enforcement family.”

Regarding the allegations, Georges said, “He’s known astir them. He’s been terminated from Packer … I don’t judge immoderate bail is necessary.”

Originally Published: October 24, 2024 astatine 5:20 p.m.