UPDATED: Dec. 6, 2011 at 12:14 a.m.

AUBURN, Maine — The Maine man who accused Bernie Fine, former associate men’s basketball coach at Syracuse University, of molesting him has ‘come clean’ and admitted to sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy.

Zach Tomaselli, 23, of Lewiston, Maine, faces 11 charges stemming from his relationship with the younger brother of his best friend. The boy is now 15 years old, Tomaselli said.

‘I realize what I’ve done,’ Tomaselli said. ‘I’m in counseling, and I’m very apologetic.’

Tomaselli met with The Daily Orange in Auburn, Maine, on Saturday. There he revealed for the first time to the media, he said, the specific details of the relationship with the boy.

The two became close at Camp Connor in Poland, Maine, where Tomaselli was a counselor in the summers of 2008 and 2009, he said. Tomaselli was 19 years old during the summer of 2008, and the victim was 12.

During the summertime, Tomaselli said, he subconsciously began to groom the boy into someone he could take advantage of. Tomaselli said he bought the boy donuts and a new pair of headphones for his iPod. He said he subconsciously thought of himself and the boy as the same age.

‘But this was kind of — in my mind — I thought it was being his friend,’ he said. ‘But subconsciously I guess I was starting to groom him.’

They spent roughly 10 hours a day together during the summer, Tomaselli said. They were at camp together during the day and played ultimate Frisbee with the victim’s older brother in the afternoon, he said.

By the end of that summer, Tomaselli said he had feelings for the boy that he didn’t want to have and that he suspected the boy had the same feelings as a result of being groomed.

Tomaselli said he fondled the boy once in the summer of 2009 and a few other times in 2010.

During the summer of 2010, Tomaselli said he began abusing Oxycodone. It had been originally prescribed to him for severe headaches, but Tomaselli became addicted. He said he learned how to snort the drug instead of swallow it. He said he even shot up morphine twice.

‘It got so out of control that my morals went out the window,’ he said. ‘I was totally messed up.’

He has accused his father, Fred Tomaselli, and Fine of sexually abusing him as a child. He said the relationship between himself and the boy in Maine contained similar behaviors. Both Fine and Tomaselli’s father have denied the allegations against them. Tomaselli’s father has publicly denounced his son and said his allegations against Fine and himself are lies.

Tomaselli said he did not understand the line of what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior between an adult and a child after being abused by Fine and his father.

Tomaselli plans to plead guilty to some of the 11 charges he faces, but said he has not determined which specific ones he will plead guilty to. Some of the charges he faces include gross sexual assault, unlawful sexual contact and tampering with a victim.

The tentative deal on the table from the district attorney, Tomaselli said, is 12 years with all but three suspended, meaning Tomaselli would have to spend three years in prison. Tomaselli also said he would have to register as lifetime sex offender.

His lawyer, Justin Leary, would not confirm or deny the details of the negotiations of the deal because nothing has been agreed upon. He said there is no plea date and no specific deadline to speak with the district attorney of Androscoggin County. He also said Tomaselli is on the January trial list in Maine.

Leary said he and Tomaselli have a meeting scheduled to discuss his client’s future, and he would not comment on whether Tomaselli will plead guilty.

Tomaselli said that at this point, after a suppression hearing that didn’t go as well as he would have hoped, he feels there is no other way to go about it than to plead guilty and be forthcoming involving his past.

‘The reason I’m coming forward with this and the allegations against Bernie Fine is because I want people to understand how an abused person can become an abuser later in life without the proper help.’

mjcohe02@syr.edu  

Published on December 5, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Michael: mjcohe02@syr.edu | @Michael_Cohen13