No Bond For Cooper City Baseball Coach Accused Of Molesting Two Boys
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COOPER CITY (CBSMiami) – A Broward County Judge said a Cooper City baseball coach accused of molesting two youth baseball players must remain in jail without bond.
And CBS4 also learned that Broward County prosecutors say more than half a dozen more potential victims of Solomon's have emerged in the past two months.
Solomon sat quietly in court Friday as Judge Lisa Porter denied his bond request based, in part, on molestation charges against him from Miami-Dade County in 2000.
Back then, Solomon was charged with molesting several children while he worked as a middle school teacher and coach.
In those cases, Solomon answered questions from prosecutors. They asked him about why he spent so much time alone with young boys, wrestled with them and gave them wedgies.
"Did you find it all strange to be doing any of these types of things?" the prosecutor asked.
"When I look back at it yes. At the time, no," Solomon responded.
"The bigger question is what are doing in the kids house when his parents aren't there?" the prosecutor asked.
"Hindsight's 20/20. I know that looking back at it, it was wrong for me to be there when his parents weren't there. It was wrong for me to be in the room alone with him with the door shut. I know that but I didn't do anything wrong with him. At the time I was talking to him," Solomon said.
Solomon said during the questioning that he was a mentor to kids and he believed in being involved in their lives.
"I'm the type of person that builds trust and friendships with the players and the parents and that makes it easier for me to go in and touch a kid the wrong way," he told prosecutors. "I admit that I build trust and relationships."
Solomon attended a diversion program and received counseling for the Miami cases and the charges were dropped.
The accusations reemerged in court Friday as the Broward prosecutor, Patyil Oflazian, said Solomon should have learned his lesson.
"What person would put themselves in the position of being alone with a child again?" Oflazian said.
In the Broward cases, Solomon, a married father of two, is accused of making up touching games to play with the victims while he was alone with them and telling them not to tell anyone.
The mother of one of the Broward victims testified Thursday about what she did when she learned of the alleged abuse.
"Did you text the defendant in this case after speaking with your son regarding the allegations in this case?" the prosecutor asked the mother.
"I told him he was disgusting," she said.
"What did he respond?"
"He didn't."
Prosecutors said over the past two months, seven other people have emerged making similar molestation allegations against Solomon.
Solomon's attorney, Eric Schwartzreich, says Solomon is innocent and that those accusations are merely that -- accusations.
"I want to see the proof," said Eric Schwartzreich. "Anyone in this country can make accusations against anyone. The million dollar question is – can they prove it?"
Solomon is due back in court next month to determine if he and his defense team are ready for trial. If convicted, Solomon faces life in prison,
