COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- Day 10 of the trial for a former wrestling coach accused of sexually assaulting middle school boys saw more emotional testimony from one of the boys and his father.
Joshua Carrier, who assisted with the Horace Mann Middle School team in 2010-2011, allegedly touched the boys while performing skin checks on them during the season.
The father of a 15-year-old alleged victim was the first person to testify Thursday.
"I was excited that Josh was a part of my son's life. It seemed like he was interested and invested in their lives," the man said. "He was a police officer, so he could be a good influence on kids. I felt comfortable with Josh's role."
He said even though he knew there were skin checks, he was under the impression they would never be alone with any of the wrestling coaches.
When Carrier was arrested the first time for possession of child pornography, the man said he was "shocked" but was never concerned for his son because they had talked about the situation.
He said his son told him the wrestlers were getting teased at school after students learned of Carrier's arrest, which matches testimony from other parents who have testified. The father said comments like "gay" and "faggot" weren't always directed at his son but still impacted him.
"He wanted to give the benefit of the doubt and believe it wasn't true," the dad said.
Then, when Carrier was arrested a second time on charges of sexual assault, the father said the boy didn't seem right.
"I know my son. It wasn't like him. He was irritable," the man said.
When he learned his son had been touched by Carrier, he was upset. The father also wrestled at the school when he was a kid but said his genitals were never touched during skin checks.
"I was heartbroken. I was angry. I was violated. I had a million questions and a million fears," he said. "I just kind of shut down. I just started thinking about the trust I put in Josh."
When the dad found out Carrier had a photo of his son on his personal computer, he became even more angry.
"Was it used online? Are there more?" were among some of the questions he had about the photograph.
"I was angry, but more disappointment and disillusion of how this could have occurred. I'm not one to get irate," he said. "I think there are a lot of mixed emotions."
His son took the stand after him Thursday. He said he also thought highly of Carrier prior to the arrests.
"I do believe he was a good coach," the boy said. "I thought he was a great guy that I could look up to."
When describing the skin checks, the boy said during sixth and seventh grade head coach John Popovich checked the boys for rashes but wouldn't call them back a second time like Carrier allegedly did. He said the process in his first two years of middle school was the same, but that "things changed" in eighth grade when Carrier became an assistant coach.