Former Pa. wrestling coaches plead guilty to sharing child pornography during local tournament

CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa. — Two former high school wrestling coaches have pleaded guilty to Solicitation of Child Pornography and Corruption of Minor charges.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro tells Channel 11, Michael Fox and Bradley Roussell entered their pleas, which comes with a 15 year SONRA registration, no contact with minors, and 3 year of probation for each defendant.

The two former coaches for the Portage Area High School wrestling team, asked their athletes to bring in and share photos of their female classmates.

“These men were trusted by the students, parents and faculty at Portage High School, and they abused that trust,” Attorney General Shapiro said. “Michael Fox and Bradley Roussell were supposed to mentor young men. Instead, they manipulated students to participate in illegal and exploitative photo swapping. I will continue to work to hold individuals who harm children accountable.”

According to the attorney general’s office, investigators became aware of the issue due to a complaint filed through the Safe2Say Something program. The program allows children and adults to submit anonymous tips to the attorney general’s office if they believe there is a threat to themselves or others before it is too late.

Channel 11 has learned the images were shared on several occasions, specifically at the West Mifflin Wrestling Tournament in December 2019.

“After receiving correspondence from the Safe to Say hotline the morning of February 6th, 2020 involving a serious allegation involving students and staff, school officials reached out to law enforcement for assistance. Throughout the investigation, school officials cooperated to the best of our abilities in the investigation of these allegations as the safety of our students and staff are of utmost importance. While extremely upset this incident occurred, we are thankful for Attorney General Shapiro’s assistance in bringing this issue to a final resolution. Mr. Fox nor Mr. Rousell are no longer employed by the district,” said Eric Zelanko, superintendent of Portage Area School District.

Shapiro told Channel 11 that the pictures were shared during what was described as a mandatory team bonding meeting in one of the coaches’ hotel rooms.

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