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Bernie Fine accuser sentenced to 3 years in prison for sex crime

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Mike Miller

Zach Tomaselli, one of the men who accused former Syracuse assistant Bernie Fine of sexual abuse, has been sentenced to three years in prison for sexually abusing a boy in Maine.

The 23-year-old Tomaselli pleaded guilty in December as part of a deal with prosecutors and was sentenced on Wednesday in Auburn, Maine.

In addition to jail time, the sentence will include six years of probation and additional sex offender counseling, reports the Associated Press. If those terms are violated, Tomaselli would risk returning to prison for an additional eight years and nine months.

Fine was fired from his assistant coaching position in late November after allegations came from four men who claimed Fine had abused them when they were boys. He coached at Syracuse for 36 seasons and was not charged in the case.

Tomaselli claims that Fine molested him in 2002, while Syracuse was playing a road game in Pittsburgh.

Tomaselli’s accusations were the only statements that fall under the statute of limitations. Floyd David VanHooser, another of the four men who accused Fine, has recanted.

As the Associated Press reports, “Tomaselli has admitted doctoring emails from police and about his school attendance records and lying to reporters to bolster his claims against Fine.”

Click here to read the full report.

Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_