A Baltimore County softball coach pleaded guilty to child sexual abuse charges Monday and will serve 10 years in prison for grooming and abusing a 17-year-old girl he coached, according to CBS News. Michael J. Pusateri, of Nottingham, Maryland, reached the plea deal with prosecutors after more than a year of charges that included rape, sexual abuse of a minor and soliciting child sexual abuse material.
The guilty plea closes out a case that first became public when Pusateri was arrested on Sept. 8, 2025, and held without bond, as reported by The Baltimore Banner. Under the plea agreement, Pusateri must register as a Tier III sex offender for life and is barred from any contact with the victim, per the seed reporting from CBS News.
A Trusted Coach Turned Predator, Police Say
Pusateri coached softball across several Baltimore County programs, including the Parkville Recreation Council, Overlea Rec and Middle River Rec, and also worked as a volunteer assistant coach at Kenwood High School. Charging documents allege he groomed the 17-year-old for several months, per the same CBS News account, and Baltimore County police said the conduct amounted to a continued course of abuse. The Banner reported that investigators described Pusateri as someone who “has been grooming the victim for a very long time.”
Court documents claimed Pusateri coerced the teenager into sending sexual images and engaged in a sexual relationship with her that stretched from April 2025 through August 2025. Federal prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland alleged in an indictment that during that window, Pusateri sent sexually explicit text messages to the minor before the relationship became physical, according to a Department of Justice announcement. The indictment separately charged him with coercion and enticement and with producing and receiving child sexual abuse material.
Phone Records Reveal Hundreds of Calls
Baltimore County police seized Pusateri's phone during the investigation and uncovered more than 400 calls between him and the victim between March 21 and July 25, 2025. On June 13, he allegedly sent the teen 37 explicit images using his work phone, the CBS News report states. Detectives said the pair met in person at least five times, often at parking lots of local businesses, and investigators found dozens of explicit images sent to the girl along with child sexual abuse material Pusateri allegedly solicited from her, per the Banner's reporting.
The Banner also reported that Pusateri allegedly sexually assaulted the girl multiple times, including at least one incident at Eastern Regional Park in Middle River. According to the victim's mother, speaking in a police interview, Pusateri recruited her daughter for his team and later offered the victim and her husband jobs at his workplace. On July 25, 2025, he reminded the teenager that he was both her coach and her parents' boss, according to court documents cited in the CBS News account.
Institutions Respond After Allegations Surface
Baltimore County Public Schools barred Pusateri from all school property once the allegations became known, and the district said he had not coached at Kenwood High School since spring 2025. The Parkville Recreation Council removed him from his coaching role and any other program roles immediately upon learning of the allegations, the Banner reported. Baltimore County Recreation and Parks likewise removed Pusateri from all volunteer activities, noting that recreation councils are separate nonprofit organizations responsible for their own program operations and volunteer management, though the county agency assists with processing background checks.
That distinction matters here because Pusateri had passed a volunteer background check in February 2025, just months before the abuse allegedly escalated, according to CBS News. Baltimore County police said detectives arrested him on a warrant for rape, assault, sex abuse of a minor and soliciting child pornography, according to a Baltimore County Police Department statement. Court officials had said Pusateri could face a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison before the plea agreement was finalized.
Case Raises Questions About Other Victims
Police have said there may be additional victims who have not yet come forward, though the investigation has not established whether any others were identified after Pusateri's arrest. The state's attorney for Baltimore County reported that the plea deal requires Pusateri to serve 10 years in prison, a term confirmed in Monday's guilty plea. For a community that trusted Pusateri with its youth softball programs across Parkville, Overlea and Middle River, the case underscores how a passed background check offered no guarantee against months of alleged grooming happening in plain sight.
