MASON, Ohio — A former youth football coach accused of having sexual contact with two victims under age 13 was found guilty Friday of gross imposition.
The jury found Eric Schmidt, 42, not guilty of rape and one charge of public indecency, and had no verdict on a second charge of gross sexual imposition and public decency. The former coach for the Kings youth program, not affiliated with Kings Local Schools, was accused of having sexual contact with one victim in April 2015 and another in September 2019. Both were acquaintances of Schmidt's family.
"I think any time you have a trial like this and you bring in the victims and allow them to tell their story, even in those cases where you don't get a guilty verdict, I think there is a measure of justice done, because they have the opportunity to have somebody that, being the prosecutors and the police, that we believe you," Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell said.
Schmidt is in custody. The judge has ordered an investigation before sentencing.
