Former Mount Vernon youth baseball coach sentenced for sexual activity with teenager
A former youth baseball coach in Mount Vernon was sentenced Thursday to four years in state prison for engaging in sexual activity with a 16-year-old who was one of his former players.
Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah announced the sentence for Robert Pope, 31, of Mount Vernon.
Pope was a coach for numerous youth baseball teams and programs in the Mount Vernon area for years. According to his Facebook profile, he had ties to Mount Vernon Baseball, a youth program which started as the Mount Vernon Bangers in 2019, and had been a volunteer coach with the Mount Vernon High School varsity baseball team.
According to Rocah, Pope was accused of sending text messages to the minor on April 11, 2021, in which he expressed a desire to see the teen.
Pope then traveled to the location where the minor was, and subjected the teen to sexual activity, Rocah said.
Pope was arrested by the Mount Vernon Police Department on June 15, 2021 after the teen's mother found the text messages, which allegedly included sexually explicit messages and photographs.
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After Pope was arrested, the Westchester County District Attorney's office conducted an investigation in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.
As a result of that investigation, Pope is also facing federal charges, which are pending.
In March of this year, Pope pleaded guilty to third-degree criminal sexual act, a felony, in Westchester County Court.
In accordance with the terms of Pope's sentence, in addition to four years in prison, he will also be subject to 10 years of post-release supervision, and he will be required to register as a sex offender.
"This defendant was someone who was entrusted to care (for) and mentor young people, and he egregiously violated the trust of the victim, the victim's family and the entire community," Rocah said in a statement released by her office. "Today's sentencing serves as notice that there will be no sanctuary in Westchester for anyone who preys upon minors or children ‒ our most vulnerable of victims."
Meghan Stelzer, Pope's attorney, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record, the Poughkeepsie Journal and The Journal News/lohud. Reach him at mrandall@th-record.com or on Twitter @MikeRandall845.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Robert Pope of Mount Vernon sentenced for sexual activity with teen
