Lempesis was arrested by a River Forest detective at his Rockford home on Sept. 3 on a charge of criminal sexual assault to a minor.

Five years after he was fired for having a sexual relationship with one of his players, former Concordia University Chicago baseball coach Spiro Lempesis’ legal troubles continue to deepen.

Lempesis was arrested by a River Forest detective at his Rockford home on Sept. 3 on a charge of criminal sexual assault to a minor. He was released from jail on $200,000 bond Sept. 9.

At a Sept. 26 court date in the 4th District Maywood courthouse, Lempesis learned that a Cook County grand jury has indicted him on one count of criminal sexual assault on a minor and three counts of criminal sexual abuse of a minor.

While police did not name Lempesis’ alleged victim, the description of his alleged criminal acts are mirrored in a civil suit filed by former Concordia baseball player Anthony Collaro. 

Last February River Forest police, acting on Collaro’s assertion in his lawsuit that Lempesis had sexually molested him while Collaro was in high school, opened a criminal investigation and subpoenaed evidence from Concordia’s private investigation.

River Forest officials recently confirmed an allegation by an outside source that Concordia turned over five hours of confiscated videotape to investigators under a subpoena, and that Collaro, now 25 years old, viewed partial footage and confirmed it showed him and Lempesis together.

Police would not comment further.

Lempesis’ wife divorced him after Elmhurst police discovered him in the back seat of a car with a 16-year-old boy at 2 a.m. in June, 2012. He was not charged after the boy insisted he’d lied to Lempesis about his age.

In 2013 Lempesis filed for bankruptcy and lost both his house and a second investment property.

Meanwhile, Collaro’s lawsuit is moving forward in state court.

On Sept 28 and again on Oct. 1, lawyers for the Burr Ridge District 180 School District were in federal court, trying to reach a settlement in a lawsuit filed by former Lempesis student Adam Kelly. He alleges that Lempesis drugged and raped him numerous times between 1996 and 1999. That case has been continued to Nov. 5.

In September 2010, Lempesis, the most successful coach in Concordia’s history, was suddenly fired. At the time school officials were tight-mouthed about the reasons for the termination, saying only that there was “suspected inappropriate sexual conduct” and that no minors were involved.

Following the highly publicized Elmhurst incident, in October, 2012 then-Concordia President John Johnson announced that a meticulous, months-long investigation by former federal prosecutor Patrick Collins had concluded, but gave few details. 

Earlier this year, Lempesis said the scrutiny he’s endured the past five years has vindicated him.

“I’ve been interviewed by the FBI, Elmhurst Police, and Patrick Collins,” he said. “They’ve found nothing. You think they wouldn’t have been able to find something on me?”

The day after his Feb. 10, 2015 federal deposition in the Kelly case, Lempesis denied having ever molested either Kelly or Collaro, and accused both men of being motivated by financial gain.

“Absolutely not,” he said. “They’re both trying to get money from the school(s).”

Lempesis repeatedly scoffed at allegations by Collaro that he experienced recovered memories.

“You really think repressed memory suddenly comes back? It’s a complete sham.”

“Amazing how that didn’t get in the (first lawsuit),” Lempesis said of the alleged abuse of Collaro as a minor.

Lempesis said the new state lawsuit from Collaro and its references to facts contained in the Kelly federal suit “is their trying to make it work. They’re formulating plans to make the school districts settle.” (Concordia is in fact a private college.)

“I guarantee when all is said and done, they will get nothing out of this.”

Lempesis said Collaro’s “Plan A failed” and that “Plan B is basically stealing out of Adam Kelly’s lawsuit.”

In a handwritten response to the court to Collaro’s amended civil complaint in February 2014, Lempesis, who is representing himself, wrote, “When is this nonsense going to stop?”

“No cases to site (sic). No precedent. No precedent to site. I just have the truth.”

–Former baseball coach indicted on sexual assault charges–