Former Major League Baseball player Chad Curtis was found guilty Friday by a Barry County jury of sexually assaulting three teen girls.
Curtis, who played 10 seasons in the bigs and is most known for winning two World Series championships with the New York Yankees in 1998 and 1999, was charged with six counts of criminal sexual conduct. The 44-year-old was a weight room trainer and substitute teacher at Lakewood Schools in Michigan and committed the assault while giving massages to the girls. WoodTV says most of the assaults happened at Lakewood High School where Curtis was going to become the football coach.
Two girls say Curtis touched their buttocks inappropriately. A third girl says Curtis touched her genitals and fondled and kissed her breasts. One incident took place in April 2012, while the two others occurred earlier. One of the victims says Curtis assaulted her after climbing into bed with her while she was on vacation with their family.
Curtis admitted in court that he may have inadvertently gone too high on the girl’s thigh while doing a massage, but denied touching the genitals. Some girls said Curtis took down their pants so that he could massage their buttocks, and one claimed he unexpectedly lifted her top while wrapping her.
MLive.com says the maximum penalty for the charges is 15 years in prison.
