Ex-New York Yankees baseball player Rosendo “Rusty” Torres was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison for sexually abusing an 8-year-old girl while working as a local youth instructor two years ago.
A Nassau County jury had convicted the 65-year-old in July of five counts of first-degree sexual abuse and had acquitted him of abusing a second girl, who was younger than 11. Judge Tammy Robbins also sentenced him to 10 years of post-release supervision.
Prosecutors have said that Torres sexually abused the victim while working as a youth baseball coach for the Town of Oyster Bay during baseball practice sessions in Plainview from April to May of 2012.
Police arrested Torres at his Massapequa home on May 8, 2012 after the victim reported the abuse to her parents. At the time of his arrest, police said Torres and the victim were alone, but “there were several other children in the general area.”
His attorneys have said they plan to appeal the verdict, which they said followed deliberations that included jury misconduct, although a Nassau judge rejected a motion by the defense to set aside the conviction based on those allegations.
Torres, who batted .212 during his nine-year MLB career, which included stints with Cleveland, the then-California Angels, Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals, made a living as a baseball instructor on Long Island for more than a dozen years.
Torres, who was anemic at the plate during his playing days, is perhaps best known for his inclusion in a trade that brought Graig Nettles to the Bronx.
—With Rashed Mian
