Philadelphia, Pa., Jul 17, 2012 / 23:10 pm
A former Lansdale Catholic High School lacrosse coach has been arrested and charged after allegedly making false claims of sexual abuse in anonymous e-mails to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
"The cost to the men subjected to the false accusations is impossible to measure," the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office said in a July 17 statement, announcing Timothy Udinski's arrest on charges of harassment and stalking.
On June 21, Udinski told detectives that he sent the archdiocese seven anonymous fabricated reports, targeting officials associated with the Catholic school where he had coached boys' lacrosse. He said he made the false reports he was "furious" and "mad at the school for the way I was treated."
According to the Distict Attorney's office, Udinski himself "was the target of unfounded accusations" of an unspecified nature. He was dismissed from his coaching duties after a series of heated arguments with players and staff.
After his dismissal, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia received an Oct. 19 e-mail stating that Lansdale Catholic's head football coach had sexually propositioned a team member. The message accused the school's principal of failing to take action against the football coach.
In March 2012, two anonymous messages were sent to the archdiocese claiming that the high school's current lacrosse coach was involved in a case of sexual assault. A further message warned that the media would be informed of this allegation.
Later that month, a series of anonymous e-mails were sent to the archdiocese and local media outlets, containing allegations against the school.
Lansdale Catholic's lacrosse coach was accused of luring the underage team members with alcohol. The anonymous e-mails included calls for the principal's resignation and a jail sentence for the lacrosse coach.
Under questioning by detectives, Udinski said all of the allegations were untrue.
The admission came after an extensive investigation of the complaints, involving 97 interviews, 10 court orders and search warrants, and at least 184 hours of detective work.
The archdiocese says it took the accusations seriously, following up with civil authorities after receiving them.
"Each of these allegations, as is our practice, was immediately reported to law enforcement," the Archdiocese of Philadelphia said in an announcement on Tuesday, thanking District Attorney Risa Ferman along with detectives "who spent countless hours working on these cases."
A preliminary hearing in Udinski's case will be held July 27.