CLEVELAND — A former part-time wrestling assistant at St. Edward High School pleaded guilty Tuesday to reduced charges involving the sexual abuse of two students over a four-year period.
31-year-old Daniel Gonsor admitted to two counts of endangering children, five counts of gross sexual imposition, and three counts of corrupting another with drugs (all felonies). In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors dropped almost two dozen other charges, including rape, sexual battery, and kidnapping.
Police first opened an investigation into Gonsor in December of 2019, and authorities claim he assaulted two members of the Eagles wrestling team between July of 2015 and June of 2019. He was arrested in January of last year and immediately suspended by the high school.
St. Ed released the following statement to 3News following Gonsor's hearing:
"The safety of our St. Ed's students is our highest priority. The crimes committed by Mr. Gonsor are deeply troubling, and we believe justice has been served through today's guilty plea. We are very grateful to those who courageously came forward to report these acts, for those who cooperated with the investigation that led to these charges, and for the thorough investigative work that was done.
"It is important to know that when we learned of these allegations, we immediately alerted law enforcement, suspended Mr. Gonsor, and instructed him to have no contact with any members of the St. Ed's community. His employment was terminated shortly thereafter. St. Ed's cooperated fully with the criminal investigation and encouraged others in our school community to do so as well."
Gonsor was also a member of the Cleveland Division of Fire at the time of his arrest. The city placed him on leave pending the results of numerous investigations, and 3News has reached out to the department for an update on his official employment status.
Cuyahoga County Judge Joan Synenberg has scheduled Gonsor's sentencing for July 29 at 10 a.m., and as part of the deal both prosecutors and defense attorneys have agreed the former coach will serve a prison sentence that could potentially land him behind bars for more than two decades. Once he is released, Gonsor will be on probation for five years and will also have to register as a Tier I sex offender.
Gonsor will be out of jail for the next month and a half after posting a $25,000 bond.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The video below is from an unrelated story about a former St. Edward wrestler who accused a college doctor of abusing him:
