Eris Murray, 56 of Hanover, was found guilty on Monday for charges of felony sexual abuse of a minor, second-degree sex offense, and sodomy. Murray was a former coach for the Maryland City Mustangs, a youth soccer team based out of Laurel.
The victim, a former player of Murray’s, came forward to police in October of 2016. According to charging documents, the victim stated that the assault occurred between four to eight years ago. Now 16 years old, the player was 8-12 years old at the time. The victim revealed that they had gone over to Murray’s house to visit with his son, another player on the team, but when the victim arrived, the son was not present. It was at this opportunity that Murray sexually assaulted them, an occurrence that happened on two separate occasions.
After detectives completed several interviews, they released a warrant for Murray’s arrest, and he turned himself into Anne Arundel County Police without incident on December 22, 2016. He was later released on a $25,000 bail.
Lisa DiGiacinto, the business manager for Anne Arundel County Department of Recreation and Parks, said that Murray passed the required background check to become a coach. A representative for the Maryland City Mustangs stated that Murray was only a coach for about three or four years, for the duration of time that his son was on the team.
State’s Attorney Wes Adams says that Murray could face up to 45 years in prison. Murray is scheduled to be sentenced this October.
