Lake Park Releases Probe Results, Coach Removed

The district’s statement added that the principal neglected to report a conversation midseason “in which he was told the volunteer coach has a background which could prevent him from working with student athletes.”

Battaglia pleaded guilty in 1992 to aggravated sexual abuse while serving as a football coach at a Catholic high school. He was in his mid-40s at the time, and his victim says she was 14. He was sentenced to 24 months’ probation and counseling, and was barred from coaching school athletics as a term of his probation, according court documents cited by the Tribune. His probation was terminated satisfactorily in 1993.

The school district requires head coaches to submit their team’s coaching roster — including all paid and volunteer coaches — for a criminal background check “before the coach begins their coaching duties,” the statement said.

Earlier this week, Gene Nudo stepped down from his position as head football coach at private Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Ill., before the team's playoff appearance. The Tribune revealed that he too had taken on Battaglia as a volunteer assistant back in 2016 without subjecting him to a required background check.