A former Skyview High School baseball coach and teacher pleaded guilty Thursday to sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy at a home where he stayed while playing minor league baseball in Maryland in 1998.
As part of a deal with prosecutors, Eric M. Estes, 42, of Vancouver entered the guilty plea in Frederick County Circuit Court in Maryland to a charge of child abuse of a household member.
In exchange, prosecutors agreed to recommend no prison time, three years of supervised probation and sex offender registration. Charges of third-degree sex offense and attempted second-degree sex offense were dropped. Sentencing is scheduled for May 21.
Officials with Vancouver Public Schools said they will fire Estes from his job as baseball coach and social studies teacher at Skyview High School in Vancouver.
Under state law, he has a right to request a hearing to contest the decision. He had been on paid administrative leave since May 30, when the allegations arose.
The maximum sentence for the conviction is 15 years. Despite prosecutors’ recommendation for no prison time, Judge William R. Nicklas Jr. may impose any sentence allowed by law, according to the Frederick News Post.
The newspaper reported that Estes’ probation terms would include registering as a sex offender for 10 years and not engaging in employment or association involving contact with children younger than 16.
Brooks Hanson, a former Skyview High School baseball player, said Estes has had a positive influence on many students in the Vancouver school district, and it has been difficult for him and others to reconcile the coach’s positive characteristics with the criminal charges against him
“He has done more for me baseball-wise than, arguably, anyone,” Hanson said. “I think it is a shame he is not going to be able to help kids like me anymore. It’s a sad situation on both sides.”
Estes was a righthanded pitcher for the Frederick Keys in 1997 and joined the Bowie Baysox the following year. Meanwhile, he continued to visit the victim’s family in Frederick, the News Post reported. Assistant State’s Attorney Lindell K. Angel said a 15-year-old boy living at the home and Estes engaged in mutual sex acts, the newspaper reported.
Estes denied the charges when the alleged victim came forward in 2007. However, when the case was reopened, Estes confessed during an interview with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
Estes was arrested in June in Vancouver and agreed to go to Maryland without contesting extradition.
The Vancouver school district has never received any complaints or concerns about Estes’ conduct with students or baseball players at Skyview, where he worked for about a decade, said district spokeswoman Pat Nuzzo.
“I don’t know, but I really believe it was an isolated incident and seems so out of character,” Hanson said. “No one ever felt even a hint of something like that, and I was around him every day for over five years, including summers.” Hanson, 19, now plays baseball for Bellevue College.
Former Skyview player Brian Valentine, who has known Estes for five years, said he was shocked when he learned about the allegations.
“He was a really good guy to everyone who passed through Skyview,” said Valentine, who now plays for Yakima Valley Community College. “I’ve looked up to him and still do as a father figure, so when I heard about it, it was a really tough time for me.”
Nuzzo said Skyview Principal Kym Tyelyn-Carlson planned to speak with high school staff Thursday to inform them about Estes’ termination. Skyview baseball coach Seth Johnson planned to break the news to the high school baseball team, she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
