Former Youth Soccer Coach Gets 18 Years For Child Abuse

ANNAPOLIS, MD — A judge sentenced a Hanover man Wednesday to 18 years in prison for sexually abusing a youth who played for the Maryland City Mustangs soccer team, which the man coached. Eris Murray, 56, was found guilty in August of sex abuse of a minor, second-degree sex offense, and sodomy by an Anne Arundel County jury.

The sentence was handed down by Anne Arundel Circuit Court Judge Cathy Vitale, according to a statement from State's Attorney Wes Adams.

Murray turned himself in on Dec. 22, but pleaded not guilty to all charges.

"Eris Murray was entrusted with a position in our community that allowed him access to our children, making both his crimes and his refusal to accept responsibility all the more heinous," Adams said in a statement, thanking Vitale for the sentence.

FOR MORE: Hanover Youth Soccer Coach Convicted Of Sex Abuse

The victim, a teenager, reported the abuse last year to authorities, according to the State's Attorney's Office. He told the Anne Arundel County Police that Murray, the victim's soccer coach and family friend, sexually abused him when he was between the ages of 8 to 12 years old.

The youth told investigators that two incidents took place at Murray’s home in Laurel between 2008 and 2012, when he was between 8 and 12 years old, the Capital Gazette reported.

A spokesman for the youth soccer league said last year that Murray only coached the Maryland City Mustangs when his son was a player, and had not been with the team since then, the Capital Gazette reported.

Image: Eris Murray (AACPD)