Former Canton McKinley swim coach guilty of second sex crime, avoids prison

CANTON – Former swim coach and Canton City Schools Aquatics Director Sam Seiple pleaded guilty Wednesday to sexual conduct with a former student-athlete, his second sex abuse conviction.

"I just want to apologize to you, judge, and all the victims... I'm a good person, I was raised well," Seiple, 61, sobbed while addressing the court.

The 2018 case was previously dismissed by Stark County Common Pleas Judge Chryssa Hartnett, appealed by the state and reversed by the 5th District Court of Appeals. A grand jury originally indicted Seiple on one count of sexual battery, a third-degree felony.

More: Former McKinley swim coach must face sexual abuse charge

On Wednesday afternoon in Hartnett's courtroom, Seiple, withdrew his initial plea of not guilty and pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, a fourth-degree felony that can bring a prison term of up to 18 months.

As part of a plea agreement with county prosecutors, Seiple avoided prison and was put on probation for three years. He must continue to register as a sex offender, undergo a mental health assessment, complete a sex offender program and is subject to alcohol and drug monitoring.

More on Sam Seiple's court history

"I want the record to be clear that this case is something that happened prior to the 2017 case...this isn't something that happened after the fact. It's something everyone in the room knew about. This case predates anything the court has seen before," defense attorney Eugene O'Byrne said on Seiple's behalf.

"Mr. Seiple has lost a lot," O'Byrne continued, adding his office had a box of letters from approximately 1,500 members of the community written supporting Seiple.

Assistant Stark County Prosecutor Dan Petricini said the evidence against Seiple was overwhelming.

"With that said, this resolution was reached balancing the interest of justice... he is a convicted felon and has to register all over again, starting today. The main concern of the victim was that the defendant plea to a felony sex crime and start sex offender registration anew," Petricini said.

Hartnett addressed both parties.

"I commend the victim for rising above this, and I respect her perseverance as vindication was delayed, but she was right.... this was incredibly offensive and reprehensible," she said.

"While it is true this defendant has pleaded guilty to a previous misdemeanor charge of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, this is not something that was uncovered throughout the process of digging into the previous case. As a general notion, plea agreements can be difficult to approve, especially sex offenses, as these are very, very personal offenses," she said.

Why was Sam Seiple's case previously dismissed?

The case was dismissed after O'Byrne filed a motion that the 2018 indictment was delayed and that state prosecutors indicated multiple times in judge's chambers that if Seiple entered a plea agreement in a similar 2017 case involving another swim team member, he wouldn't face additional charges if the second swimmer decided to press charges.

At the time, it was believed the second minor stepped forward only to support the first victim's 2017 case and was not seeking charges.

Seiple pleaded guilty to the 2017 case under the plea agreement and was sentenced to 120 days in jail with all but two days suspended. Seiple was to be a registered sex offender for the next 15 years. He also turned over his certifications and could never coach again, court records show.

Second minor sought charges

Ten months after the 2017 guilty plea, the second victim decided to press charges and a secret indictment followed, accusing Seiple of sexual acts with the student swimmer coached at Canton McKinley between 1995 and 1996.

According to the court of appeal's opinion, chamber conversations about the plea agreement exempting Seiple from the second minor's potential filing of criminal charges were not on the court's official record, so the state could legally pursue charges.

Thus the 2018 case was sent back to Common Pleas Court for prosecution.

Seiple was the aquatics director of the C.T. Branin Natatorium from 1994 until the 2017 criminal case.

Reach Cassandra Nist at cnist@gannett.com; 330.418.5297; Twitter @cassienist

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Former Canton McKinley swim coach guilty of second sex crime, avoids prison

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