According to an earlier report, long time Syracuse Orange assistant head coach Bernie Fine is being investigated for allegedly molesting a boy over a decade ago. The alleged victim was a former Syracuse ball boy.
The school, however, released a statement claiming that they were aware of the investigation that began in 2005 and conducted their own investigation. In the statement, Syracuse said it was unable to find evidence of wrongdoing during an internal investigation at the time.
"In 2005, Syracuse University was contacted by an adult male who told us that he had reported to the Syracuse City Police that he had been subjected to inappropriate contact by an associate men's basketball coach. The alleged activity took place in the 1980's and 1990's. We were informed by the complainant that the Syracuse City Police had declined to pursue the matter because the statute of limitations had expired. On hearing of the allegations in 2005, the University immediately launched its own comprehensive investigation through its legal counsel. That nearly four-month long investigation included a number of interviews with people the complainant said would support his claims. All of those identified by the complainant denied any knowledge of wrongful conduct by the associate coach. The associate coach also vehemently denied the allegations. Syracuse University takes any allegation of this sort extremely seriously and has zero tolerance for abuse of any kind. If any evidence or corroboration of the allegations had surfaced, we would have terminated the associated coach and reported it to the police immediately. We understand that the Syracuse City Police has now reopened the case, and Syracuse University will cooperate fully. We are steadfastly committed ensuring that SU remains a safe place for every member of our campus community
Bobby Davis, the alleged victim, claims that he reported the alleged abuse back in 2003 to Syracuse police, but the statute of limitations had expired. Davis claims the incidents began in 1983, while he was in the seventh grade, and continued in 1984, when he became a Syracuse ball boy.
For more on these developments, visit Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician.