Ex-Medford Soccer Coach Gets 3 to 4 Years For Raping Player

Former youth soccer coach Roger Lau was sentenced to three and a half to four years in prison for raping a 13-year-old player in 2003, prosecutors said.

Lau, 27, of Medford, was found guilty on March 2 by a Middlesex Superior Court Jury on two counts  of rape of a child.  Middlesex Superior Court Judge Diane Kottmyer handed Lau  the state prison sentence on Monday.

Following the prison time, Lau, 27, will serve five years probation. He won't be allowed to have contact with the victim and will have to register as a sex offender, according to a press release from the office for District Attorney Gerry Leone.

In the spring of 2003, Lau spoke to the victim on the phone and lured her to his home to watch a movie, prosecutors said. He picked the victim up in his vehicle and brought her to his home where he raped her, prosecutors said.

Lau continued to arrange to meet the victim to have sex with her for over a year

Lau was arrested on December 21, 2009 on 4 counts of forcible child rape.

Lau's co-defendant and fellow coach, Thomas Heinz, was found not guilty in early March on a charge of rape of a child by force.

The following statement was submitted by Medford Soccer spokeswoman Nancy Sterling:

“We hope that this sentencing brings some measure of closure to the victim involved in this 2003 incident, one of our former soccer players.  Our heartfelt sympathies are with the woman involved.  When placing coaches on rosters, Medford Soccer not only does CORI checks, conducts interviews and checks references, but almost exclusively utilizes parents of current players as coaches."