COLUMBUS, Ohio — A former wrestling coach at Bishop Ready High School, who is accused of inappropriately touching a teen girl, agreed to a plea deal on Monday and was placed on five years of probation as part of his sentence.
Anthony Aiello, 46, was initially charged with sexual imposition, telephone harassment and public indecency in connection with two incidents that allegedly happened in September and November of last year. All three charges were misdemeanors.
Aiello pleaded guilty on Monday to telecommunications harassment and the two other charges were dropped. He was sentenced to 180 days in jail and received five years of probation and a no-contact order. He received credit for two days served in jail and the remaining 178 days were suspended.
According to the documents, a teenage girl participated in a medical forensic interview in February 2024. During the interview, the girl said she was spending the weekend with Aiello on the weekend of Sept. 15. Records say the girl was sleeping when she woke up to Aiello touching her inappropriately.
On another occasion in November 2023, the girl and Aiello were speaking to each other during a FaceTime call. The girl reported that she knew something seemed off with Aiello and began to screen-record the call. According to court records, the girl said Aiello was inappropriately touching himself.
A spokesperson for Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein’s office said prosecutors determined that a guilty plea to the highest level charge and dismissal of the other two charges was a just resolution in order to avoid putting a young victim on the witness stand.
Aiello began working as a wrestling coach at Bishop Ready High School in 2017. Following his arrest in June, the organization said Aiello is no longer employed with them.
"Bishop Ready and the Diocese of Columbus stand firm on a zero-tolerance policy that holds all staff and volunteers to a high standard of conduct. Student safety and well-being are of the utmost importance to the administration and the Diocese of Columbus. The Diocese of Columbus takes child protection seriously and remains vigilant in combating the perception and reality of child abuse,” the Diocese wrote in a statement.
