A former Cooper City youth baseball coach will spend more than a decade behind bars after pleading guilty to charges of molesting former players.
David Solomon entered the plea Wednesday in a Fort Lauderdale courtroom to two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation of a minor under 12 years old.
There were some tense moments as family members of the victims addressed Solomon.
"You will never understand the pain, the hurt, or the damage you caused my son. You stole his innocence from him," the mother of one victim said.
"An 11-year-old boy, 13, and who knows how long, because of you he must suffer the rest of his life. Shame on you," said a victim's father.
Judge Lisa Porter ordered Solomon to serve 12 years in prison followed by 10 years of probation. The 47-year-old was immediately handcuffed and fingerprinted in the courtroom.
Solomon maintained his innocence in court, saying he took the plea deal since it was in the best interest of his family.
"I did not harm anyone's kids, I didn't. Not one, not one," Solomon said. "And I'll go to my grave and tell everybody today that I'm innocent in this case."
Two 11-year-olds claimed that they were molested by the former Optimist Club coach on multiple occasions in both Solomon’s car and in his home during sleep overs with his son.
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"He was facing over 14 counts on very, very serious charges. If he was convicted on just one of those counts, he could've gotten life in prison," defense attorney Eric Schwartzreich said. "So we came to a resolution, which I believe in David Solomon's innocence, David Solomon has always said he's innocent."
On the prosecution side, they say their goal was to protect the children in the case.
"We felt that it was the right thing to resolve this case by plea, as I mentioned in court, to spare these children from going through the trauma of reliving their sexual abuse if it was possible to come to a resolution and in this case it was," prosecutor Patyl Oflazian said.
Solomon will get credit for time served. The former coach was previously arrested on molestation charges in Miami-Dade back in 2000 but they were ultimately dropped.
A status hearing is scheduled for April 26. Solomon could also face a separate restitution hearing to pay for damages or injury incurred to the children who came forward.
