A baseball coach at the Cooper City Optimist league was arrested Thursday on allegations that he molested an 11-year-old boy he coached.
David Solomon, 47, faces two sexual assault on minor charges.
According to the arrest report, one incident happened April 9 during a sleepover at Solomon’s house and another happened during a car ride.
The report said Solomon also placed his hand on the boy’s penis, on top of his clothes, and moved his hand back and forth.
The victim told detectives that Solomon also molested him about five to eight times on separate occasions around the time of the sleepover.
According to the report, Solomon told the victim that they were playing games when the sexual acts would occur.
The victim told detectives that he eventually told Solomon that he was uncomfortable with the sex acts, but Solomon told him not to tell anyone.
Deputies said the victim eventually told his mother in May, and she immediately pulled him out of the baseball camp and confronted the suspect.
Deputies said some of the victim’s former teammates told him that they too were molested by Solomon.
According to the report, the parents became aware of the allegations, confronted Solomon and then called police.
Solomon was arrested at his home and remains at the Broward County Jail without bond.
Solomon was previously arrested in 2000 on molestation charges while working as a physical education teacher at Hialeah Gardens Elementary School.
In that case, Solomon and his attorneys claimed that the two boys, who were under the age of 14, were lying. One of the boys eventually recanted his claims, and the state dropped the charges against Solomon.
“I feel relieved and I just know it was a matter of time, (and) justice prevailed I guess,” Solomon told Local 10 News 15 years ago after the charges were dropped. “Kids know what to say and when to say it to get them out of whatever they need to get out of, and you just got to look our for number one.”
Cooper City Mayor Greg Ross released the following statement Friday: “The accused individual passed comprehensive background checks which were conducted by the Optimists each year he coached. The city and the Optimists remain committed to safety as the first priority of the Optimists youth sports program within Cooper City.”
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