WILSON — The trial in the case against two Wilson High School students facing charges in connection with an alleged hazing on a school bus continued Monday night behind closed doors.
Inside the Wilson Town Hall, Justice George Berger heard more witnesses testify in the prosecution’s case against 17-year-olds Colton Sherman and Christopher Sidote
Sherman faces two counts of second-degree hazing, while Sidote faces one count each of first- and second-degree hazing, all in connection with an alleged incident on an April 17, 2008, bus ride.
The teens, who were varsity baseball players at the time, are accused of engaging in hazing behavior with at least two members of the junior varsity team during the ride back from a game in Niagara Falls.
Two coaches who were on the bus — William Atlas and Thomas Baia — were charged with three counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
Jury selection for their trial is set to begin July 6.
The trial began Saturday and continued Monday night. Because Sherman and Sidote both have youthful offender status, the trial was closed to the media and public.
Sources who were inside the courtroom, who did not wish to be named, said Saturday’s testimony included several witnesses for the prosecution, including two who did not show up on time.
The first, a high school student, was attending a graduation and came to court late; the other was a state police investigator, who ended up testifying Monday night, the source said.
As rain fell outside the courtroom Monday, several teenage boys were seen entering the courtroom, some accompanied by their parents and attorneys.
Sitting outside in a car was Michael Paul, president of MGP & Associates, a New York City firm specializing in crisis public relations and reputation management.
Paul is helping Baia and Atlas try to repair their reputations after what he said has been a difficult year.
Because the teens were had originally charged with more serious crimes, including forcible touching, the case took on sexual abuse overtones in the beginning, Paul said. Even though those charges were reduced, the implication is still there for many people, he said.
One of the coaches — Paul wouldn’t specify which one — has faced an instance of public misunderstanding because of it.
Several months ago, he said, one of the coaches was in a nearby town and was approached by a teenage baseball player who knew him. As the coach talked with the player, the teen’s father grabbed his son and pulled him away, saying, “Get away from my kid!”
“The way in which he did it was as if the coach did something in a sexual nature to kids,” Paul said. “In his mind, after hearing the story so many different ways, it got twisted so much that he’s thinking that (the coach) did something. That shows how fearful (the public) should be when rumors start, when incomplete stories start, when lies become truths inappropriately. It’s scary. Reputations are very, very important. They deserve to be defended.”
In recent weeks, people have been coming up to the coaches and apologizing, he added.
Baia and Atlas are on paid leave from their jobs, both as teachers and coaches at Wilson Central School District. They have not been in the classroom for over a year, Paul said.
Because of union contracts, they are still being paid as teachers, but not as coaches.
Paul said he believes the coaches will be exonerated, and the “truth” will come out.
“They want to continue to teach. They want to continue to coach,” he said. “They want to live in a community where people will come up to them a year from now and say, ‘Wow, that’s horrible that you went through that.’ ”
A decision in the case against Sherman and Sidote may not come until after the coaches’ trial begins next week. More witnesses are expected today, Wednesday and possibly Thursday.
Contact reporter April Amadon at 439-9222, ext. 6251.
Courts
WILSON: Trial continues for teen defendants in alleged hazing
<i>Jury selection on coaches’ case to begin Monday</i>
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Rohde sentenced, job uncertain
It’s unknown if a suspended Niagara County Sheriff’s deputy will return to work, following his sentencing Wednesday in Lockport City Court.
Kevin J. Rohde, 31, was granted a one year conditional discharge for endangering the welfare of a child. Rohde pleaded guilty to the charge in Feburary, a charge which stems from an incident that took place with a 15-year-old girl in March 1999. Rohde was given youthful offender status, as he was 18-years-old at the time.
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Mongielo sentenced to 15 days
David J. Mongielo faces a 15-day jail sentence for violating the town’s sign ordinance a second time, which was a violation of the first offense’s conditional discharge.
Mongielo received a pair of sentences Tuesday night in town court, the first for his 2011 violation of the ordinance. The Robinson Road auto shop owner will pay a $250 fine and receive a one-year conditional discharge. That means Mongielo will serve 15 days in jail if he violates the ordinance again over the next 12 months.
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Diefenbach sentenced to 10 years
Not only couldn’t Hans S. Diefenbach believe he was so delusional last spring that he thought Norma Confer was trying to kill him, Diefenbach said he would have married the woman he stabbed to death if circumstances were different.
Diefenbach made that statement Thursday, just minutes before Niagara County Judge Matthew J. Murphy sentenced him to 10 years in state prison, five years of post release supervision and a $5,000 fine. -
Bartz could get probation
A Town of Lockport burglar will attempt to avoid jail time by participating in Niagara County Court’s judicial diversion program for court supervised drug treatment.
Matthew E. Bartz, 30, of Bartz Road pleaded guilty to three counts of third-degree burglary at an appearance Wednesday in State Supreme Court before Justice Richard C. Kloch, Sr. However, Bartz was also approved for the diversion program Wednesday. All three counts are nonviolent class D felonies. -
Rohde given youthful offender status
A Niagara County Sheriff’s deputy has received youthful offender status in a rape case stemming from an incident that allegedly took place 13 years ago.
Kevin J. Rohde, 30, has taken a plea without admission and will be sentenced April 25 in Lockport City Court. He had been facing first-degree rape following an incident that took place March 1, 1999, at a Remick Parkway residence, when Rohde was 18 years old. -
Former NFTA cop sentenced
A former Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority police officer will spend six years on probation for sending a sexually explicit photo to a teenage girl, a girl he later had a sexual encounter with.
In addition, John W. Ingham will spend 25 weekends in the service of the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office Work Program. Ingham was sentenced Thursday by State Supreme Court Justice Richard C. Kloch, Sr. Ingham will also register as a sex offender. -
Rapist gets 15 years
A Middleport man will serve 15 years behind bars for raping a Lockport woman at knifepoint in March.
Harold G. Case, 50, 3470 Carmen Road, was sentenced Thursday in Niagara County Court for first-degree attempted rape, a class C violent felony. Upon completion of the sentence, Case will have 15 years of post release supervision. -
Plea reached in stabbing case
Hans S. Diefenbach could be looking at 10 years in state prison, after pleading guilty to first-degree manslaughter Thursday in Niagara County Court.
Diefenbach 47, 70 Genesee St., admitted to stabbing 66-year-old Norma Confer several times with a pair of knives on April 21, leaving one of them in her back. She died in May after being in a coma for
five weeks. Diefenbach was originally charged with first-degree murder. -
Court actions published Sept. 7, 2011
Schumacher DWI case adjourned to October
A Gasport woman accused of hitting two teens on Dysinger Road on May 26 will return in the beginning of October to Lockport Town Court, after having her case adjourned Tuesday night.
Amy J. Schumacher, 36, 8472 Chestnut Ridge Road, has been charged with Class E felony aggravated vehicular assault and driving while intoxicated.
On May 26, Schumacher was driving on Dysinger Road when she swerved off the road and struck two boys who were walking on the shoulder, according to the report from the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office. According to sheriff’s deputies, Schumacher registered a 0.12 percent blood alcohol content. - More Courts Headlines
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