A basketball coach from Massachusetts is facing serious allegations, accused of sexually assaulting a student who was under his foster care, and supplying her with alcohol.
Scott Marino, 54, stood before Woburn District Court on Thursday to confront accusations related to an incident where he allegedly served margaritas and tequila shots to an 18-year-old high school student before assaulting her at his residence, as reported by WBTS.
Marino holds the position of head coach for the Malden High School girls’ basketball team and also works as an educator at Linden School, where he teaches children from kindergarten through eighth grade.
At the time of the alleged assault, the victim was residing with Marino and his wife as part of their foster care arrangement, according to the same outlet.
Images captured Scott Marino arriving at Woburn District Court to address multiple charges linked to the alleged sexual assault of the 18-year-old in Woburn, Massachusetts, on Thursday, February 26, 2026. (WFXT)
Prosecutors claim that Marino and the victim attended Ash Wednesday mass before traveling to Boston, where they picked up a seafood meal and purchased drinks from a local liquor shop.
Upon arriving at Marino’s Stoneham home, prosecutors said the coach poured the victim a margarita and a shot of tequila.
The victim told Marino she did not like the drink, but he continued urging her to drink more, prosecutor Jacob McCrindle said, according to the Boston Herald.
When the victim subsequently began feeling sick to her stomach and went into her room to lie down, Marino allegedly sexually assaulted her, the outlet reported.
Scott Marino reportedly worked as a high school girl’s basketball coach at Malden High School in Malden, Massachusetts. (Google Maps)
“This was, clearly some planning went into this, to go get dinner, to provide drinks and engage in the type of behavior that he did over the course of the night,” McCrindle reportedly said.
Following the alleged assault, the victim used her phone to contact friends and an aunt, who then called 911 and drove to Marino’s home, according to WCVB.
When the victim’s aunt arrived, the young woman came “running out of the home,” prosecutors reportedly said. She was subsequently transported to a local hospital for a full sexual assault examination.
While in court on Thursday, Marino’s defense attorney reportedly pointed to his lack of criminal record and current teaching profession.
“He’s never been in court for his life. He’s a lifelong member of the community. He’s been a coach, he’s been a teacher,” defense attorney Kevin Mullen said, according to the outlet.
Mullen declined Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
However, McCrindle looked to the victim’s foster care relationship with Marino, expressing that the alleged crimes are especially dangerous given the coach’s caretaker role.
“This is a relationship where the defendant was the victim’s foster parent. He took her into his home. That’s a position of trust, as well as coupled with the fact that the defendant is a teacher, or was a teacher at the Malden Public Schools, and he was also her coach for many years,” the McCrindle said, according to WBTS.
Scott Marino was arrested Wednesday and charged with two counts of rape, one count of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or over and one count of selling or delivering liquor to a person under 21, according to WFXT. (WFXT)
An unnamed woman who played on Marino’s basketball team for four years told WCVB that the charges have left her in disbelief.
“Very, very shocked,” she said. “It’s something that I would have never expected at all because I knew him for four years and he was somebody that I looked up to, and he was a great mentor. It’s hard to try to process.”
Marino was arrested Wednesday and charged with two counts of rape, one count of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or over and one count of selling or delivering liquor to a person under 21, according to the outlet. He was released on $75,000 bail following his court appearance Thursday and has been placed on leave from Malden Public Schools.
“The district is fully cooperating with relevant law enforcement agencies in their investigation, which is ongoing,” Malden Public Schools Superintendent Timothy Sippel said in a statement to WCVB.
“I understand how upsetting and distressing this is to our community, given the serious nature of these allegations. We thank you for your continued commitment to our students and our district community. The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority.”
Malden Public Schools did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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