Va. Basketball Coach Charged with Sexual Assault of Former Athlete

A former Virginia basketball coach was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison after pleading no contest to charges that he sexually abused a former 12-year-old Sterling player.

Marlow Mokassa Afshartous (also known as Marlow Talley), 40, of Reston, was charged Saturday with sexual assault and solicitation of child pornography, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office.

Talley was a reserve player for Virginia Commonwealth University in the mid-1990s and formerly coached numerous basketball teams throughout the District of Columbia and Northern Virginia, including a team at the Claude Moore Recreation Center in Sterling.

The victim, a 12-year-old female Sterling athlete, reportedly came forward in late June claiming that Talley sexually abused her on multiple occasions. The situation came to light when victim reportedly showed her mother and a close family friend numerous text messages between her and Talley.

Talley remained employed by the county as a basketball coach until the day before his arrest, according to officials.

Authorities in Loudoun and Fairfax counties are working to determine if there are any additional victims. Talley was formerly a coach and trainer at Georgetown Day School, the Fairfax Stars and the now-closed Hoop Magic in Chantilly.

Russell Shaw, head of Georgetown Day School, issued a statement saying Talley served as one of two Assistant High School Women’s Basketball Varsity Coaches there in a limited capacity from 2010 to 2013 after a background check was completed in 2010. Shaw said Talley is not currently employed by GDS and will not be in the future.

“We take matters of this kind very seriously and will be conducting an internal review surrounding his time at GDS,” the statement read.

Talley faces a total active sentence of 15 years in the Virginia Department of Corrections. Upon his release, he will be placed on indefinite supervised probation and must successfully complete a sex offender treatment program. He will also be required to register as a sex offender. The case remains under investigation and additional charges are possible.

Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to contact Detective J.S. Cichocki at (703) 777-0475. For more information about the Virginia’s Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry, visit the Virginia State Police website at http://sex-offender.vsp.virginia.gov.

Image: Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office