Peoria, AZ: A former high school basketball coach accused of sexual abuse against a juvenile testified in his own trial. The defendant was the predecessor to a recently fired Peoria High School coach known to Phoenix Suns fans as “Mr. ORNG.”
A grand jury recently indicted Mr. ORNG, real name Patrick Battillo, on a number of crimes. His predecessor, William Roberts, 46, faces six counts of sexual misconduct with a minor. A grand jury charged Roberts in July 2022, however the charges date back to instances allegedly occurring between 2006 and 2007, as well as 2011 and 2013.
According to the probable cause statement, Roberts reportedly had sex with both female victims when they were minors. The alleged sexual contacts occurred before Roberts was named head basketball coach at Peoria High School.
In 2011, Roberts formed ‘Team M’phasis,’ a Peoria-based nonprofit organization comprising three basketball teams dedicated to coaching and mentoring youngsters.
According to MaxPreps, Roberts was named head basketball coach at Peoria High for the 2015-16 season. He was placed on administrative leave in December 2019 after an internal probe, and he resigned in May 2020.
Battillo was an assistant coach under Roberts and applied for the interim head coaching position. Battillo, a superfan known as ‘Mr. ORNG’ at Phoenix Suns games, finally took over the program for five seasons.
Battillo has been charged with four counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor as per Fox10 Phoenix.
Earlier in April, Peoria Police said Battillo tried to persuade a 15-year-old boy that he could earn money by uploading videos of himself doing sex activities. Court filings disclose Snapchat communications including Battillo’s purported instructions. Two more juvenile classmates informed investigators that Battillo made sexually improper comments to them on Snapchat.
Battillo will return to court on April 24, while Roberts’ trial continues on April 23.