Published: May 14, 2008 01:36 am            

WILSON: Coaches plead not guilty in connection with alleged abuse incident

WILSON — Two Wilson baseball coaches pleaded not guilty to a charge of endangering the welfare of a child in Town of Wilson Court on Tuesday night.

The coaches, Thomas Baia and William Atlas, were charged April 29 in connection with the alleged assault of at least two students by fellow students on a district school bus last month.

Baia and Atlas were on the bus at the time, state police said.

The case has created controversy in Wilson, as some residents support the coaches, while others believe the victims’ plight should be the prime concern.

Some have blamed the media for turmoil in the town. Cameras were not allowed in the courtroom Tuesday night, and cardboard was placed over the windows so no one could see in.

Earlier, when asked the court date for the coaches, the media had been told they’d be in court May 22, the same date as the student defendants.

Baia and Atlas did not speak to the media after facing the charges Tuesday night, but some Wilson residents who were in the courtroom did speak out in support of the coaches.

“My heart goes out to the family of the victims; but as far as the coaches are concerned, they are great men and they would have never let something like this happen,” said Bob Hartz.

But not everyone agreed.

Scott Isles believes the focus should be on the victims.

“You know its the kids that got barbarically tortured or whatever. Not the coaches. The coaches should have been on the bus. They should have been on the back of the bus. They should have been paying attention to what was going on. That was their job,” he said.

“Too many people are standing up for the coaches, and not the kids and worried about the reputation of the town,” Isles added.

But Hartz said he had confidence in the coaches’ record of supervision.

“They had supervised 200 to 300 bus trips before this; there was no indication of an act like that,” Hartz said.

The coaches’ case has been adjourned until June 26, said Wilson Town Court Justice George Berger.

State police said the alleged incident occurred April 17 on a bus carrying members of the varsity and junior varsity baseball teams, as they returned to Wilson from Niagara Falls.

Three varsity baseball players are accused of assaulting at least two members of the junior varsity team on the floor in the back of the bus.

Both Atlas and Baia were suspended from coaching when school administrators learned of the investigation, and the varsity baseball season was canceled.

Atlas, 35, is a physical education teacher at Thomas Marks Elementary School in Wilson. Baia, 40, also of Wilson, is a math teacher at Wilson Middle School. They have been suspended with pay from teaching.

The students — 18-year-old Geoffrey A. Seefeldt and 16-year-olds Colton J. Sherman and Christopher A. Sidote — have been charged with various counts of endangering the welfare of a child and third-degree aggravated sexual abuse.

Channel 7 News contributed to this story.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.