NORTHAMPTON — A Hampshire Superior Court grand jury indicted a former volunteer Amherst Regional High School basketball coach Tuesday on 13 charges, including aggravated child rape and enticement of a child under 16.

Anthony Florio Jr., 33, of 740 Riverglade Drive, Amherst, was indicted on seven counts of posing or exhibiting a child nude, three counts of disseminating matter harmful to minors and defacement of property in addition to the enticement and rape counts.

Florio has been in custody at the Hampshire County Jail and House of Correction since May 9. He has not yet been arraigned on the charges in Hampshire Superior Court.

He previously denied similar charges in Eastern Hampshire District Court where he was represented by attorney Alfred Chamberland.

In the lower court, he pleaded not guilty on May 28 to charges of aggravated rape of a child, 10-year age difference, four counts of lascivious posing or exhibiting a child in the nude and malicious destruction of property over $250, according to court documents.

Earlier that same month, Florio also pleaded not guilty in court to charges of distributing obscene matter, disseminating obscene matter to a minor and enticing a child under the age of 16.

The incidents allegedly occurred in Amherst and Hadley between September 2016 and April 2017 with the same individual, according to the indictments. The Gazette does not generally identify alleged victims of sexual assault.

Following Florio’s arrest May 9, parents and guardians were notified by Amherst Regional High School Principal Mark Jackson that Florio would not be allowed to participate in any school district activities.

Florio had undergone a criminal background check through the Criminal Offender Record Information system, as is customary for anyone with unsupervised access to high school students, according to Jackson’s statement. He served as a volunteer coach for the school’s varsity boys basketball team for the past two seasons.

Emily Cutts can be reached at ecutts@gazettenet.com.

]]>