BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — A BASEBALL COACH AT A WELL-KNOWN SCHOOL WAS INDICTED Thursday on 20 counts of sexual misconduct against a child and other charges, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced.
The defendant, Nicolas Morton, 31, of Park Slope, was arraigned Thursday before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Donald Leo on a 20-count indictment charging him with second-degree course of sexual conduct against a child, third- and first-degree sexual abuse, 13 counts of endangering the welfare of a child, two counts of forcible touching, and second-degree unlawful imprisonment. Morton pleaded not guilty.
During the time the defendant ran a travel baseball team while also serving as the head coach at The Packer Collegiate Institute, he allegedly engaged in the sexual conduct during the travel team practices, mostly in Packer’s gym and in several Brooklyn ballfields, from the beginning of 2023 through the summer of 2024.
Victims, whose ages ranged at that time from 12 to 14, recalled that at nearly every practice, the defendant made sexual comments, spoke extensively about masturbation and demanded to see their intimate parts, threatening punishment if the youths did not comply. Rumors started to circulate among players’ parents in July 2024 and some of them reported their concerns to Packer. The school terminated the defendant’s employment in August.
Morton also worked in the school’s admissions office in addition to coaching.
In October 2021, Packer also fired the school’s then-Athletics Director Darrin Fallick for “unprofessional behavior” that a source said included allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate touching.
Bail was set at $75,000 cash or $150,000 bond and the defendant was ordered to return to court on Dec. 13, 2024.
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