Former Marblehead Hockey Coach Sentenced In Child Sex Assaults

MARBLEHEAD, MA — A former Marblehead private youth hockey coach accused of child sexual assault pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 13 to 15 years in prison at Salem Superior Court on Monday.

Christopher Prew, 34, was scheduled to be tried on the charges involving eight boys between the ages of 7 of 13 at the time of the assaults, but entered a guilty plea instead.

Prew pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated rape of a child, 14 counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and one count of attempted indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.

Judge James Lang also sentenced Prew to 10 years of probation. While on probation, Prew will be ordered to stay away from and have no contact with victims, stay out of Marblehead, wear a GPS monitoring device, have no unsupervised contact with children under 16, not work or volunteer with anyone under 18, complete a mental health evaluation and seek any treatment necessary, and register with the state as a sex offender.

Essex Assistant District Attorney Kate MacDougall had requested a prison term of 15 to 18 years plus probation.

"While I fully understand that nothing can restore what the defendant so callously took from the victims and their families, it is my fervent hope that this plea will make clear that none of this was their fault," Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said in a statement. "I commend the boys for their bravery in coming forward and for their willingness to testify at trial."

Time served will go toward the completion of Prew's sentence.

Prew, who was also charged with child sexual assault in Vermont, had his bail revoked in Massachusetts in November 2019 when he failed to appear in court on those charges.

Prew has been in prison for nearly two years since the judge revoked his bail. He was accused of sexually assaulting seven boys across Essex County, including those in Marblehead and Peabody.

Prosecutors say most of the allegations took place between Jan. 1, 2017, and Feb. 5, 2018. Prew has also been indicted for molesting a boy in Newton.

Prew, who provided private and group coaching sessions out of a hockey company he co-owned — but was not affiliated with the Marblehead Youth Hockey Association or Marblehead Public Schools — was initially accused of indecently assaulting and raping a 9-year-old boy on various dates between Sept. 1 and Jan.31, 2018.

Marblehead police began investigating Prew after the boy told his mother of the alleged assaults, officials said at the time.

His Massachusetts trial was initially delayed when he changed counsel, then again last year amid the coronavirus pandemic.

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