by Jerry Burke
Last week, a Queens jury found the 37-year-old Elmont resident guilty on all 19 charges brought against him, including five counts of first- and second-degree sodomy, seven counts of first- and second-degree sexual abuse, one count of first-degree attempted sodomy and six counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child. According to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, Colman could face more than 100 years behind bars on consecutive sentences. His sentencing hearing has been set for June 5.
"I hope the prospect of the defendant's lengthy imprisonment brings a measure of solace to the traumatized children and their families," said Brown. "His conduct was reprehensible and his victims were scarred for life."
A former construction worker and coach for the Forest Hills-based Argentina Soccer League, Colman was arrested on May 17, 2001, after Nassau County Police were notified of incidents of abuse by the mother of one of the boys he coached. A joint investigation by Nassau County and New York City Police led to charges in four separate incidents.
The Queens jury of five men and seven women deliberated for three days after the 2 1/2-week trial, which centered on two hotel stays in January and April of 2001. According to Brown, an investigation indicated that the coach had molested six boys, ranging in age from 11 to 14, during the traveling soccer team's overnight trips to two Queens hotels, the Best Western on Corona Avenue in Flushing and the Clarion Hotel on Ditmars Boulevard in East Elmhurst. The indictment was filed last January in the Queens County Supreme Court.
During the trial, five of his former players and a brother of one victim testified that Colman slept in the same bed with the children after watching pornographic movies. The boys said they didn't tell anyone about the alleged abuse until more than a month later because they feared what Colman would do to them.
Two of the boys involved in the Queens case alleged that they were also abused by Colman at his Ludlam Avenue home during a pair of sleepovers on March 24 and April 14, 2001. According to Nassau County Assistant District Attorney Gregg Turkin, the boys said that Colman molested them while three of them slept on a mattress in his living room.
Colman contended that he never molested the boys and that he was coerced into signing a written confession by Nassau County Detectives.
Turkin was the prosecuting attorney for Colman's Nassau County case in December, in which the jury, citing insufficient evidence, cleared him of the most serious charges, including four counts of first-degree sodomy and six counts of first-degree sexual abuse. He was convicted of two counts of endangering the welfare of a child and sentenced to two years in prison, including time served.
Turkin said after the first trial that he was "extremely disappointed" with the decision, adding, "I don't think the right thing happened."
State Supreme Court Justice Richard Buchter will oversee the sentencing on June 5. Colman's attorney, Martin Geduldig of Hicksville, said after the trial that his client was "saddened and disappointed" by the jury's decision. He expects to file an appeal after the sentencing.
Colman will also face a civil lawsuit from a mother of one of the boys, in which the family is seeking millions in damages.
"[Colman] has been found guilty by a jury of preying upon children entrusted to his care and destroying their innocence to satisfy his own pathological sexual desire," said Brown. "His crimes warrant the severest of punishment."
