Boy testifies against coach
An 8-year-old boy who told authorities he was bribed by his coach to throw a baseball at an autistic teammate testified yesterday that after he hit the teammate in the groin, the coach ordered him "to go out there and hit him harder." Keith Reese told Uniontown District Justice Deberah Kula that his coach, Mark Downs Jr., 27, not only offered him $25 on June 27 to hurl a ball at his teammate's head before a playoff game, but also goaded him into throwing another ball when the first one did not get the boy to pull out of the game.
At the end of the hearing, Kula ordered Downs held for trial on two counts of criminal solicitation to commit aggravated assault,corruption of minors, conspiracy to commit simple assault and recklessly endangering another person. He will be arraigned Sept. 15.
Police have said Downs wanted to bench 9-year-old Harry Bowers Jr. because he is autistic and wasn't as good as the other players.
Downs, who did not testify, appeared to be calm and subdued as Fayette County District Attorney Nancy Vernon brought up four witnesses who all claimed that Downs prodded Reese into throwing the ball.
Reese, one of the team's star players, testified that after he hit Bowers twice with a baseball as they played catch before a game, the coach altered the bribe.
As the team gathered for ice cream to celebrate after the game, Reese testified, Downs told him he would get $25 if he joined a fall league team. No money exchanged hands, Reese said.
Reese's father, Keith Reese Sr., said Downs confessed as he helped him with equipment after the game.
"He told me, 'I did something ignorant. I asked [Keith] to hit Harry with the ball.' "
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05210/545643.stm