SALEM — A former youth hockey coach from Marblehead admitted Wednesday to the rape and sexual assault of eight boys.
Christopher Prew, 34, of Winthrop and formerly of Marblehead, pleaded guilty in Salem Superior Court to one count of aggravated rape of a child (greater than 10-year age difference), 14 counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and one count of attempted indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. He was sentenced to 13 to 15 years in state prison followed by 10 years of probation.
Prew, who provided private and group hockey coaching and was not affiliated with the Marblehead Youth Hockey Association, was arrested in February 2018 after a 9-year-old boy who participated in Prew’s program accused him of rape and assault.
The alleged conduct took place primarily between January 2017 and February 2018. The eight victims, all of whom Prew knew through his hockey program, were between the ages of 7 and 13 at the time of the assaults.
Prew originally pleaded not guilty to the charges in March 2018. His case was scheduled for jury selection Monday.
According to the Essex County District Attorney’s Office, there is evidence that during that time period, Prew touched the boys’ genitals and buttocks and placed their hands on his own genitals. He also raped one of the boys.
“While I fully understand that nothing can restore what the defendant so callously took from the victims and their families, it is my fervent hope that this plea will make clear that none of this was their fault,” District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said in a statement. “I commend the boys for their bravery in coming forward and for their willingness to testify at trial.”
Attorney Kelli Porges, who represented Prew, declined to comment on the ongoing case.
Prew received 1,282 days of jail credit for the time he has spent behind bars while awaiting trial. While on probation, he will be ordered to stay away from and have no contact with the victims, stay out of the town of Marblehead, wear a GPS monitoring device, have no unsupervised contact with children under 16, not work or volunteer with anyone under 18, complete a mental-health evaluation and any treatment deemed necessary, complete sex-offender treatment and register with the Sex Offender Registry Board.
Prew has also been charged with assaulting a boy in Newton and another in Jay, Vt.
Prew’s mother, Louise Martino, was also arrested for witness intimidation in March 2018 after she allegedly sent threatening messages to the mother of the first victim, who had previously dated Prew. She pleaded guilty in September 2019 and received a six-month suspended jail sentence and three years of supervised probation.
