MONUMENT, Colo. -- A former high school basketball coach
faces 39 charges for allegedly hitting male students in the groin,
showing them pornography and pouring water on his players then
driving them to games in the winter with the windows rolled down.
Gregory Lynn Burr, 28, face charges ranging from sexual assault
on a child by one in a position of trust to child abuse resulting
in serious bodily injury, according to court documents reviewed by
The Gazette of Colorado Springs. One of the students claims to have
had scrotal surgery because of Burr's alleged assault.
A student in documents said Burr would ask them, "What is the
capital of Thailand?" When they would answer "Bangkok," he would
hit them in the groin.
The incidents allegedly took place from September 2005 to March
2006 at The Monument Academy.
Burr's phone number in Colorado Springs was not listed. Burr
attorney Phil Dubois told The Gazette Monday that the charges are
unwarranted, adding, "Mr. Burr is not a sex offender or anything
close to it."
Burr, who was arrested, posted $10,000 bail on Dec. 14, court
records show.
Burr is no longer is employed at the charter school, which is
part of the Lewis-Palmer School District 38, said Ted Belteau, the
district's executive director of personnel and student services.
Burr's wife, Sharalee, was athletic director, coach of the
girl's basketball team last season and a teacher at the school told
the newspaper that she was fired.
In arrest records, some of the victims portrayed the incidents
as Burr's misguided attempts at humor but said they kept quite for
fear of getting kicked off the team. One student estimated some of
the players were hit in the groin 30-40 times.
Another said the blows occurred at every practice, with the
coach hitting them with his hand, basketballs and tennis balls.