Princeton Soccer Association Fires Coach Charged with Possession of Child Porn

Roman
Roman

The Princeton Soccer Association has fired youth soccer coach Jorge Roman, who was charged Thursday with one count of possessing images of child pornography after federal agents searched his home and allegedly found what has been described as compromising, sexual movies of minor boys.

A letter was sent to by soccer association leaders to parents yesterday outlining the group’s policies to protect children and expressing shock about the allegations. The full text of the letter is below.

 

Roman, 48, is an assistant soccer coach at Rider University and previously was a coach at Princeton University.

 

According to the criminal complaint, over the last five years he allegedly ordered DVDs, photo CDs and downloads that exploited nude, minor boys that were marketed as “naturist films from around the world” on more than 40 occasions. If convicted, Roman faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

 

May 17, 2013

Dear Parents of PSA Development Center Participants:

Last evening Princeton Soccer Association learned about a very serious issue involving the activities of one of our coaches.  The Board of PSA has taken immediate action, and Jorge Roman has been terminated effective immediately from Princeton Soccer Association. He has been arrested for allegations involving the possession and receipt of child pornography.  We have not been contacted by any authorities at this point and will certainly cooperate in any investigation.  There are no words to describe our shock.

I would like to reassure all parents that the club has taken steps over the years to ensure the safety and well being of our players.  The club has child protection policies in place including ensuring children are never left alone or with only one adult, including any coach or professional, while the children are involved in club activities.  This policy was put in place for the express protection of our children and is reinforced with our professional staff and our volunteer managers.  We believe that this policy has been strictly complied with concerning Mr. Roman. It is important to note that Mr. Roman never trained at our Development Center so it is unlikely your child will ever have had contact with him.

These allegations have come without any warning or concerns from any past employer or current parent.  Mr. Roman came to us after previously being employed by Princeton University, and he currently is employed at Rider University.  Every year, he undergoes background checks as part  of being a professionally licensed coach through New Jersey Youth Soccer and US Club Soccer.  These licenses were renewed in the Fall of 2012.
Mr. Roman was contracted to PSA in August 2012, and was currently only coaching one Premier travel team for PSA, and had been recently replaced as a coach for another team due to time constraints with his coaching responsibilities at Rider University.  Over this past winter, he was the administrative coordinator for our indoor futsal league.

As I write this, PSA Board Members and our Director of Coaching, John Newman, have spoken to the parents of the team he coached and we will take phone calls from anyone with concerns.   We will not post this letter on our website as we know children can access it.  We want any messaging around this issue to be controlled by parents.  Our priority is our children and we continue to keep the focus on them and their development, especially with these young players as they hopefully grow to love the game of soccer.

Please be assured that I, and my fellow Board Members, treat this with the utmost importance and urgency, as we are all in this to offer our children a safe, secure environment to play.
Sincerely,
MaryBeth Parker
President, Princeton Soccer Association

John Newman
Director of Coaching

Stuart Henderson
Director of Travel

David Pompliano
Board Member

Grant Burnett
Board Member

One Comment

  1. It’s getting real hard to put your trust in people you meet these days.

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