David Alsager, a retired high school swimming coach in Michigan, pleaded no contest to criminal sexual conduct and will spend a year in jail as part of a plea deal.
Michigan’s The Morning Sun newspaper reports that Alsager (referenced as David Eric Alsager) was sentenced to one year in jail back in November. The 67-year-old pleaded no contest to a second-degree criminal sexual conduct charge as part of a plea agreement.
Alsager was arrested back in February. The Morning Sun reports that a young girl accused Alsager of sexual abuse. According to that report, Alsager was close to the girl’s family and had known them for about six years. In March 2019, Alsager was left alone with the young girl, and in November of 2019, the girl told her mother about the abuse. The girl’s mother told a mandatory reporter, who informed the local Sheriff’s Office.
Alsager had previously coached high school swimming at Mount Pleasant High School and had coached the Mt. Pleasant Pacers at the club level. Michigan media have reported that he was retired as a swim coach. The Morning Sun reports that Alsager was also a faculty member at Central Michigan University.
His attorney argued that Alsager has medical issues that should limit his jail time, though prosecutors said the only documentation of those issues was Alsager’s word. Probate Judge Stuart Black ultimately sentenced Alsager to one year in jail with a one-day credit.
So disappointing. So many coaches I meet are passionate and committed to what they do (you would have to be given the pay scale for most).
Absolutely crazy though, when you work with children you have to be cleaner than clean. Keep records of everything, communicate well with parents, always allow parents access to any communication one on one with children (I will only communicate with individual kids via email so that there is a clear record of what I said and what they said and I will BCC parents in as soon as a conversation starts to steer towards a topic I am uncomfortable with).
This sort of stuff makes me really sad.