Teens detail alleged assault by ex-Farmington High coach in Detroit courtroom
(CBS DETROIT) – The former Farmington High School basketball coach accused of sexually assaulting two teen boys will stand trial after a Wayne County judge heard from both underage victims Monday afternoon.
Both teenage boys say when they first met former Farmington High School basketball coach Jeremy Thompkins, not only did he promise to train them to get into the NBA but offered to help them with their resell business.
"He told us he was going to help us become millionaires and become wealthy," the first victim said.
Over time, the 43-year-old gained their trust, so much so that he frequently hosted the boys at his home in Detroit.
"He told us to watch this: I'm gonna say all the right stuff. I know how to say all the right stuff to let your mom let you come over," the second victim said.
Back in October, he allegedly gave one of the boys a massage in a guest bedroom.
"What did he do after he massaged your feet?" asked Elisabeth Moore, the Wayne County assistant prosecuting attorney.
First victim: "He proceeded to massage my calves and my thigh"
Moore: "Is it fair to say that he was working his way up your leg?"
First victim: "Yes"
Moore: "When he got up your leg, what happened next?"
First victim: He started getting close to like my b*******."
Afterward, when the boy asked to go home, he says Thompkins became upset.
The second victim says he was touched twice, the first time allegedly happened in Thompkins' car.
"We were in the car, and out of nowhere, he stopped and grabbed my thigh, and I was sitting there confused and kind of uncomfortable, and I was asking, 'Why was he grabbing my thigh for?' But then he sat there with a blank face while his hand was on my thigh, asking 'what?' he played it off that he was coming up with a business idea," the second victim said.
The other time, the second victim says, happened at Thompkins' home.
Victim Two: "I wake up in the middle of the night"
Moore: "Did something cause you to wake up?"
Victim Two: "Yeah, I was gonna pick the movie, so the remote was in my lap, and I woke up to find Coach J looking for the remote. As he was looking for the remote, his hand was touching my thigh.
Thompkins' attorney doesn't believe there's any criminality to the touching.
"In both situations we have, I believe circumstances which clearly can be superseded events where this court can take into determination, whether or not these were done for sexual gratification," Richard Taylor, Thompkins' defense attorney, said.
But from the judge's perspective
"Although the defendant may be a dummy, no one said he's a complete dummy because he's going to test the waters to see how far he can go," 36th District Court Judge Kenneth King said.
"He's going to see the boys' reaction each and every time that he makes an advancement, and if the boys don't seem to be with it, then he's going to play it off, start talking about businesses and any other thing could justify what he just did, but if there's anything that puts the nail in the coffin as to what this defendant intent was is what he says after the fact."
Thompkins, who was out on bond, was taken into custody after the hearing until he can post 10 percent of a $100,000 bond, at which time he'll be under house arrest with a GPS tether.
