Mass. youth soccer coaches accused of raping teen player in 2003-04; both plead not guilty

Mass. soccer coaches accused of raping teen player

SOMERVILLE, Mass. — Two former youth soccer coaches have pleaded not guilty to raping a girl on their team.

Roger Lau and Thomas Heinz, both 26 and from Medford, were arraigned in Somerville District Court on Tuesday on forcible child rape charges. Lau faces four counts, Heinz faces one.

Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said the rapes occurred between 2003 and 2004, when Heinz was the head coach and Lau was an assistant on the girl’s under-14 Medford soccer team.

“We allege that these coaches used their position in order to inappropriately contact, entice and manipulate this vulnerable victim into forging a sexual relationship,” Leone said in a statement.

Prosecutor Katelyn Draper said Lau started a sexual relationship with the girl that lasted more than a year by luring her to his house for a movie. There was no movie, and he instead had sex with her, Draper said.

The victim, now 20, said on a different occasion Heinz molested her while she and Heinz were sitting on the end of Lau’s bed, and Lau was having sex with a woman.

Heinz’s attorney, Brad Bailey, said his client agreed to be interviewed by police and has “nothing to hide.”

Lau’s attorney, Jason Thomas, denied the charges against his client.

“We believe that once all the investigating is done, these complaints will be unmerited,” Thomas said in court.

The Boston Globe reported that Heinz’s father is Thomas Heinz Sr., a top official of the Medford youth soccer league.

Bail for Lau was set at $8,000, while Heinz was released on personal recognizance.