Baltimore County softball coach pleads guilty to sex abuse charges, will serve 10 years
A Baltimore County softball coach has pleaded guilty to child sexual abuse charges involving a girl he coached.
The plea deal was reached Monday between prosecutors and Michael J. Pusateri, who was charged with sexually abusing a 17-year-old girl. The deal requires Pusateri, of Nottingham, Maryland, to serve 10 years in prison, according to a statement by the State's Attorney Baltimore County.
An indictment charged Pusateri with coercion and enticement, along with producing and receiving child sex abuse material, according to court documents.
Terms of the plea deal also require Pusateri to register as a Tier III sex offender for life and prohibits him from having any contact to the victim.
Volunteer coach
According to police documents, the victim's mother said Pusateri coached for Overlea Rec, Middle River Rec, Parkville Rec, and Kenwood High School.
In a statement, Baltimore County Recreation and Parks said Pusateri passed a background check in February 2025. He has since been removed from all volunteer activities.
"While recreation councils are separate nonprofit organizations - responsible for their program operations and management of volunteers -- the County's Department of Recreation and Parks does assist with processing background checks for volunteers," the department said in a statement.
Baltimore County schools said Pusateri last volunteered at Kenwood High in the spring of 2025 and has been barred from accessing school property.
Allegations of sex abuse
According to the indictment, Pusateri sent sexually explicit text messages to the teen and later engaged in a sexual relationship between April 2025 and August 2025.
He allegedly asked her to meet him in the parking lots of local businesses to engage in sexual acts, the court documents detail. The documents claim he groomed the teen and coerced her into sending sexual images.
After an encounter on July 25, Pusateri reminded the teen that he was her coach and her parents' boss, according to charging documents.
Baltimore County police seized his phone and uncovered more than 400 calls between him and the victim between March 21, 2025, and July 25, 2025. Detectives discovered that Pusateri and the teen met in person on at least five occasions.
During an interview, the victim's mother told police that Pusateri recruited her daughter for his team and later offered her and her husband jobs at the company where he worked.
If convicted, Pusateri could face a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, court officials said.