Former Ohio State Coach Sentenced To Four Years In Prison For Sexually Abusing Underage Diver

Former Ohio State diving coach William Bohonyi was sentenced to four years in prison on Monday on two counts of sexually abusing Estee Pryor, a diver who trained with the Ohio State University Diving Club when she was underage.

Bohonyi had pleaded guilty to the two counts of sexual battery back in May. Judge Michael Holbrook handed down a two-year prison sentence for each of the charges against Bohonyi, with the possibility of conditional release after one year. He will also be listed on the sex offender registry for the rest of his life, according to Columbus news outlet 10 TV’s Bennett Haeberle. Pryor gave a statement at the sentencing hearing on Monday, saying that she was speaking out in order to hold Bohonyi accountable for his crimes:

Speaking to NBC’s Megyn Kelly in July 2018, Pryor said that Bohonyi had approached her shortly after meeting her, when she was 16. According to her, the then-27-year-old coach began grooming her right away, turning the relationship sexual within a week.

At Monday’s sentencing hearing, Bohonyi admitted to his wrongdoing, and attempted to apologize to Pryor, who reportedly left the courtroom in anger.

Ohio State opened an investigation into the allegations back in August of 2014, finding that Bohonyi violated the university’s sexual harassment policy. He was fired later that month. Pryor’s attorney, Robert Allard, said that the school did not initially act after being presented with images and videos of various sexual encounters between Pryor and Bohonyi.

Despite his firing, Bohonyi continued to abuse Pryor from September 2014 through March 2015, the graphic details of which were shared in a class-action lawsuit Pryor and other, unnamed divers brought against against Bohonyi, the Ohio State Diving Club, and USA Diving. The plaintiffs claim Ohio State and USA Diving did not do enough to stop Bohonyi’s crimes. USA Diving said in October that it did not “knowingly participate in alleged misconduct.” Since the filing of the suit, the federal court overseeing the case has dismissed the charges against the Ohio State Diving Club.

[ AP]