Jose Ortega, 41, a coach with the Boston Broncos youth baseball team, was ordered held in lieu of $50,000 bail today at his arraignment on four counts of enticement of a child under 16, one count of unnatural and lascivious acts with a child under 16, and one count of attempting to commit a crime – posing a child under 18 in a state of nudity.
All of the charges read against Ortega in West Roxbury District Court today relate to a single player he recruited for the team earlier this year, in part by claiming major-league connections, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports. Additional cases are now under investigation, the DA's office says.
Prosecutors are not alleging that Ortega actually touched the boy, but do charge he fondled himself in the boy's presence:
Over the weeks and months that followed [the boy's recruitment] Ortega allegedly began "grooming" the boy in phone conversations, in Facebook messages, and in person. He allegedly asked the boy to enter his van to engage in sexual activity, to come over and shower at Ortega's house, and to take sexualized photos of himself to send to Ortega.
The case first came to light when a relative of the boy observed some of the explicit messages on the boy’s Facebook account.
Innocent, etc.
