Syracuse police are in the beginning stages of investigating an allegation that Syracuse assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine molested a team ball boy for more than 12 years beginning in the 1980s, according to an ESPN report.
Fine is in his 35th year as Syracuse assistant coach.
The alleged victim, Bobby Davis, told ESPN Outside the Lines that Fine began molesting him in 1983 before Davis started the seventh grade and continued molesting him periodically until Davis was 27 years old. Davis said Fine molested him in Fine's home, at the Syracuse basketball facilities, and on road trips that included the 1987 Final Four.
One of Davis' relatives, another man, told Outside the Lines that Fine also molested him.
Davis said head coach Jim Boeheim was never made aware of the abuse.
Davis said he reported the abuse to Syracuse police in 2003, but a detective told him the statute of limitations had expired. The detective said the police would investigate if Davis knew of anyone Fine was currently molesting, but Davis did not know of any other specific incidents, though he told the detective he suspected he was not Fine's only victim.
At the time, the Syracuse police chief was Dennis Duval, who played under Boeheim at Syracuse. Duval retired in 2004.
ESPN investigated Davis' allegations in 2003, but decided not to run the story because no other victims had come forward, and insufficient evidence supported Davis' claims. In the past week, though, a second man came forward saying he had been molested by Fine. The man said the Jerry Sandusky case encouraged him to come forward.