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SOUTH KINGSTOWN, Rhode Island (AP) — A former Rhode Island high school basketball coach who authorities say forced male student-athletes to take off their clothes for years while they are alone with him so he can check their body fat, pleaded not guilty to the charges on Friday.
Aaron Thomas, 55, the former successful boys coach at North Kingstown High School, was released on a $10,000 bond after pleading not guilty in Washington County Superior Court to second-degree sexual assault and second-degree child abuse. He was also banned from teaching or coaching.
Although Thomas allegedly administered the tests to multiple students over many years, the charges relate to only two, authorities said. One was under the age of 14 at the time of the alleged crime between September 2000 and February 2002, authorities said.
The other case dates back to some time between September 2019 and February 2020, they said.
Thomas did not answer media questions outside court, but has repeatedly denied wrongdoing through his attorney.
“He has dedicated his professional life to the students of North Kingstown,” defense attorney John E. McDonald said after the hearing. “He vehemently denies any criminal conduct. Dozens of students have been interviewed by North Kingstown police to say that they participated in this program voluntarily, that they took advantage of this program, and that nothing of a sexual nature ever occurred.
Thomas coached at North Kingstown from the 1990s until he resigned last year.
The students said the tests were an open secret at the school and would begin with Thomas asking a student if he was “shy or not.” If he said “not shy,” Thomas asked the student to remove his underwear and tested him using a caliper near his private areas.
The criminal investigation began in November and includes interviews with more than 30 former students, as well as teachers, coaches, administrators and medical professionals, according to the attorney general’s office. Charges were filed in July.
The case scandalized the city and led to lawsuits by several former students against the coach and the school, as well as a federal civil rights investigation.
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