Crime & Safety

Former Coach Pleads Guilty to Predatory Sexual Assaults

Two of the victims were 7 and the third was 10 at the time. The defendant could be sentenced to life in prison.

Richard Dinizo, a 58-year-old Cortlandt Manor resident and former girls basketball coach, pleaded guilty Tuesday (Dec. 17) to three counts of predatory sexual assault of a child, class A violent felonies.

The charges are related to three separate criminal sexual acts—which took place at Dinizo's home between March 1, 2008 and July 31, 2010—with three separate victims. Two of them were 7 at the time and the third was 10.

The defendant reportedly videotaped the acts.

Find out what's happening in Peekskill-Cortlandtwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"With each of the victims, the defendant tricked the young girls into playing a tasting game that involved the girls performing acts of oral sex," officials from the Westchester County District Attorney's office said in a statement. "Each victim wore a mask covering their eyes that kept them unaware of the defendant's deviant sexual conduct."

Sentencing is scheduled to take place Feb. 18, 2014. Dinizo faces a maximum sentence of life in prison on each of the counts. 

Find out what's happening in Peekskill-Cortlandtwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

News of Dinizo's arrest came in the spring. Members of the New York State Police, the Westchester County District Attorney's Office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security investigated the case.

Second Deputy District Attorney Audrey Stone, Chief of the Special Prosecutions Division, and Assistant District Attorney Kenneth Borden of the Special Prosecutions Division are prosecuting the case, according to a press release.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.