A Rhode Island high school basketball coach is now facing criminal charges over accusations that for years he asked male student-athletes to remove their clothes while alone with him so he could check their body fat.
Aaron Thomas, 55, who coached at North Kingstown High School from the 1990s until his resignation last year, faces second-degree child molestation and second-degree sexual assault charges.
According to Boston.com, an arraignment has been scheduled for Aug. 19.
While Thomas is alleged to have performed the tests on multiple students, the charges relate to alleged sexual contact with two. One was under the age of 14 at the time of the alleged crime, which occurred between September 2000 and February 2002.
News of criminal charges against Thomas comes after students earlier this spring filed a lawsuit against the high school. Former North Kingstown athletic director Keith Kenyon, who was named as a defendant in the lawsuit, resigned back in May.
“Kenyon promoted Thomas as a ‘Testing Station Operator’ and promoted Thomas’ performing body fat testing on the students of North Kingstown High School,” the former students allege in the lawsuit filed last month in R.I. Superior Court, according to WPRI 12.
