A youth hockey coach in Massachusetts sexually assaulted a teen on his team during a several-year span, police said.
Allen S. Pereira, 59, of Woburn, was arrested Sunday on three felony counts of indecent assault and battery on a person age 14 or over, Dracut police announced Monday.
Pereira, who worked at a private youth hockey league in Dracut, allegedly victimized the teen for several years, beginning when the boy was a 14-year-old player on his team.
Police said Periera is accused of inappropriately touching the victim and trying to coerce the teen into touching and performing sex acts on him.
Additional details regarding the hockey league where Pereira coached during the alleged incident were not provided by police.
But the owner of Breakaway Hockey Dek & Sports in Dracut told WCVB that Pereira coached street hockey there, beginning in 2011. He also coached a traveling team that played at the indoor hockey rink and sports facility before he was fired five months ago when the victim’s mother reported the accusations.
“We were made aware of allegations and we took them seriously,” owner Casey Corcoran told the station in a statement. “We took quick corrective action. Other comments should be directed to an ongoing investigation.”
The victim later contacted cops about the accusations, the Lowell Sun reports.
“The victim wanted to tell their story,” Police Chief Peter Bartlett told the newspaper. “At that point, once the investigation went this direction, that’s when the detectives decided that it was in the best interest of the case to try Mr. Pereira with the three counts.”
Pereira is expected to be arraigned Tuesday in Lowell District Court. An investigation into the coach is ongoing and anyone with additional information is asked to contact cops, Bartlett said.
“This case is something we are going to be vehemently investigating and we would encourage anyone with information relative to this case or the suspect to contact our detectives,” the chief told the newspaper.