UPDATED (2:49 p.m.) Earlier this year, an investigation began in Baldwin County after a young woman approached investigators with a disturbing story.
“While she was a student at St. Michael Catholic High School she played on the softball team and a softball coach between the years of 2020 and 2021 kind of befriended each other and it led to a more of an intimate relationship from there,” said Baldwin County Sheriff’s investigator Lt. Andy Ashton.
For more than a year investigators say Leonard Rizzuto, 60, and the alleged victim, who was 16 at the time, were involved in a sexual relationship. Some of the alleged acts taking place at an off-campus practice facility and at the coach’s home in Daphne. “It was kind of under the guise that she was getting private lessons, instructions, and stuff regarding softball and whatever and it just spiraled into this,” said Ashton.
Seven months after the investigation began the alleged victim testified before a Baldwin County Grand Jury. They returned an indictment charging Rizzuto with having sexual contact with a student under the age of 19.
“I think this was just something that was just weighing on her conscience for a long period of time,” added Ashton.
Rizzuto was arrested Wednesday afternoon and less than 24 hours later he was released from the Baldwin County Jail on 15 thousand dollars bond and ordered to have no contact with the victim or anyone under the age of 18.
Investigators say no other students or victims have come forward with similar allegations regarding Rizzuto.
UPDATE (12:27 p.m.): News 5 has learned that a former head softball coach at a local high school has been released from jail after his recent arrest.
Leonard Anthony Rizzuto, 60, is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old student during the 2020-2021 academic year at St. Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope.
He was booked into the Baldwin County Jail on Nov. 6 and was released on bond today at 11:54 a.m., according to jail records.
UPDATE (11:20 a.m.): News 5 is learning more about the accusation that led to a former Catholic school softball coach’s arrest.
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On April 11, the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office began investigating the allegation of an adult’s alleged sexual relationship with a 16-year-old student at St. Michael Catholic High School, according to a BCSO news release.
The alleged relationship occurred during the 2020-2021 school year while Leonard Anthony Rizzuto was St. Michael’s head softball coach, according to the BCSO.
“Some of the alleged acts took place at an off-campus practice facility as well as his private residence in Daphne Alabama,” the release said.
St. Michael released Rizzuto as head softball coach after the 2021 season, News 5 has learned.
“The Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office and its partners in law enforcement are committed to continuing their efforts to identify and apprehend individuals who engage in illegal activities to ensure the safety and well-being of all children,” the release said.
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BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. (WKRG) — A former Catholic school softball coach is being held on a $15,000 bond after his arrest on a sex charge, News 5 has learned.
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The Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office identified that man as 60-year-old Leonard Anthony Rizzuto.
According to officials, Rizzuto was a softball coach at St. Michael Catholic School in Fairhope. He is no longer employed following an incident that allegedly happened in 2021 with a girl who was 16 or 17 at the time.
The girl, who is now an adult, reported the alleged incident in March of this year, and a grand jury returned the indictment, officials said.
News 5 is working to learn more about Rizutto’s employment dates and whether the alleged incident occurred at the school.
Rizzuto was charged with school employee engaging in a sex act or deviant sex offense, according to the Baldwin County Jail log.
He is now being held on a $15,000 bond and was ordered not to have contact with the victim or anyone under age 18.
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This is a developing story. News 5 will update this article as more information becomes available.
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