Former Fairfax County Youth Coach Apprehended in Poland

A former Fairfax County coach accused of sexually molesting at least five children was apprehended by the Polish Border Police on Wednesday while trying to cross into the Czech Republic.

John E. Hamilton, 39, was first arrested at his home in Centreville in May 2009 after a 24-year-old victim came forward. The victim told police that 12 years earlier, in 1997, his little league coach had sodomized him over a five-month period. The alleged incidents took place in Hamilton's former home in Belle View and in the Carl Sandberg Middle School parking lot. Hamilton worked as a little league baseball coach for Fort Hunt Youth Athletic Association during that time. At the time of Hamilton's arrest, detectives removed a 16-year-old foreign exchange student who had been living in Hamilton's home.

Then more victims came forward.

A month after Hamilton's arrest, a 19-year-old and 28-year-old man alleged that their then-coach Hamilton sodomized them from October to December 2001 and December 1992 to April 1993, respectively, according to Fairfax County Police.

Police suspect Hamilton may have had inappropriate contact with other Northern Virginia children, particularly those who were active in the athletic community.

Hamilton was charged with one count of aggravated sexual battery and three counts of taking indecent liberties with a child by a person in custodial or supervisory relationship in August of last year. He skipped his October 2009 court date, leading police on a nationwide search.

Fairfax County Police, along with the U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Department of Justice, are in the process of having Hamilton extradited back to the United States now.

Hamilton faces various charges stemming from allegations of sexual misconduct that occurred between 1992 and 2008, including two counts of aggravated sexual battery of a child, two counts of indecent liberties with a child and one count of crimes against nature with a minor.

Fairfax County Child Services Unit, U.S. Marshals Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation worked together to investigate and apprehend the suspect.