Minn. ex-coach pleads not guilty to boys' assault
A former Salvation Army youth basketball coach pleaded not guilty this week to sexually assaulting two preteen boys whom he coached.
Peter Jay Olson, 47, is charged with eight felonies, including first-degree criminal sexual assault. He pleaded not guilty to all the charges Friday, the Duluth News Tribune reported.
Prosecutors initially charged Olson with four felonies in June for allegedly assaulting one boy, but they added four charges last month after the second boy came forward.
Olson coached both boys in the Lake Park Little League in Duluth, according to prosecutors. He was a coach in the Salvation Army's Rookie Basketball Association from 1988 until he was fired in November, the Salvation Army said.
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Online court records on Saturday didn't list a defense attorney for Olson.
Prosecutors allege that Olson sexually assaulted one boy twice and took indecent photographs of him. The amended complaint says he sexually assaulted a second boy and photographed him nude as well. The alleged events happened between 2005 and 2011.
Olson's pre-trial hearing is scheduled for Oct. 3.
Olson's case is one of two ongoing criminal proceedings that involve former youth basketball coaches with the Salvation Army.
In an unrelated case, Wendell Anthony Greene, 37, is accused of sexually assaulting two preteen girls. A jury trial in his case is scheduled to begin next week.