Former Riverdale Baptist Soccer Coach Gets 35 Years for Sex Abuse

Former Riverdale Baptist soccer coach Charles Vasser has been sentenced to 35 years in prison after being convicted in a child sexual abuse case earlier this year.

Vasser, 35, was found guilty of abusing an underage student athlete while he was serving as coach of the girls soccer team at Riverdale Baptist School. The victim was a member of the team.

“Our community is especially devastated when a child is sexually abused at the hands of someone who seemed to be a trusted and responsible adult,” Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks said in a statement. “As a result of this sentence, Mr. Vasser will have plenty of time to reflect on his terrible actions.”

According to a statement from the state’s attorney’s office, Vassar had “an array of sexual contacts” with the then 15-year old victim from October 2008 to July of 2009.

Vassar was found guilty of various criminal sexual acts against the victim, including sexual intercourse, digital penetration, and kissing. In all, he was convicted of five counts of child sexual abuse.

In addition to his 35 year sentence, he was also sentenced to five years of probation, is prohibited to have contact with the victim, and is not permitted to have unsupervised contact with any minor females other than his daughters.