STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) - A former Connecticut tennis instructor accused of forcing one of his underage players to perform a sexual act was sentenced to nine months in jail.
Judge Gary White sentenced Maurice Thomas-Riley, 24, of Norwalk, on Thursday morning, the Stamford Advocate reported.
Thomas-Riley will also have to serve a seven year and three month suspended sentence and 15 years probation after pleading guilty to a reduced charge on Thursday.
The former instructor at Grassroots Tennis in Norwalk was first charged with two counts of first-degree sexual assault and three counts of risk of injury to a minor in 2015 after he was accused of forcing a 14-year-old girl to perform oral sex.
Officials of the tennis organization said at the time of his arrest that Thomas-Riley had been with the program since he was a child and became a senior coach there as well an instructor at the Stamford Tennis and Youth Academy.
Following the allegations, Thomas-Riley was fired from both tennis schools.
His defense attorney Eugene Riccio argued his client received a short sentence because he had no previous criminal history.
Upon his release, Thomas-Riley can be sent back to jail to serve all or part of his suspended sentence if he fails to register as a sex offender for 10 years, fails to participate in sex offender treatment or breaks the law in any way.
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