Man says Fayetteville basketball coach sexually abused him

The man, who spoke exclusively with WRAL News, said the assaults occurred when he was 15 and a member of the Carolina Force basketball team coached by Rodney Scott.

Scott, 50, was arrested a week ago in connection with an alleged May 1 sexual assault of a 14-year-old boy at his home on Vestal Avenue. Media coverage of that incident prompted others to come forward and accuse Scott of assaulting them as well.

Scott, who remains in the Cumberland County jail, now faces 10 child sex charges, all involving alleged victims who were 14 or 15 years old.

The former basketball player said the alleged attacks happened at Scott's home and once at a hotel during a team trip. He said Scott would get permission for him to spend the night at the coach's house from his mother, and Scott would then demand to sleep in his bed.

"He would just be trying to touch on me and stuff like that, and he would try to get me to touch him. But I would often just snatch away from him or something like that," the man said. "He would kind of roll on top of me, and he's a really big guy, so it was really going to be hard to get away from him."

WRAL News doesn't identify sex assault victims.

The man said he never told anyone about the attacks because he feared no one would believe him.

"I was pretty much scared because he is kind of well known in the community. So, I kind of thought people would think I would be lying," he said.

Fayetteville police Lt. John Somerindyke, who heads the investigation into Scott's case, said he is shocked by the allegations and expects more victims to come forward.

"After talking to him and some of these other victims, there's no doubt in my mind that there are several other victims out there that have not come forward, that we do not even know about," Somerindyke said.

The man said the abuse robbed him of his childhood and his love for basketball. He said he came forward to get past it and move on with his life.

"Just having that on your life and not being able to tell nobody, to get it out just kind of drags you down and gets you away from stuff," he said. "I just wanted to put it out there now, and that way, I can get it off my chest and move on with my life."