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Baseball coach accused of sexual assault

A man who coaches a Quad City-area travel baseball team is accused of sexual assault of a child.

A man who coaches a Quad City-area travel baseball team is accused of sexual assault of a child.

Police said Anthony Molina, 34, is charged with five counts of predatory sexual assault of a child and two counts of sexual abuse of a child. The details released in court documents detail at least two separate occasions involving fondling and oral sex in 2011. The victim is listed as a then 8-year-old girl.

Molina is a coach of the Quad City Cannons 14U travel baseball team. He is also president of the league's board. The complaint filed against Molina does not indicate any players were victimized.

Board members told News 8 that Molina was a good coach who seemed to get along well with the players. It's unclear how these accusations will affect Molina's standing in the QC Cannons league. One board member speculated that there might be a meeting held to discuss Molina's future.

Molina is well known as a standout baseball player from Moline High School. His college career at University of Evansville made headlines after he was hit by a ball thrown by an opposing pitcher during warm-ups. The 1999 incident would go down as one of the most vicious cheap shots in sports history. The injury to Molina's eye would be career ending. He later returned to the Quad Cities as a team coach and now president of the QC Cannons.

An arrest warrant was issued while Mr. Molina was still at large.   Moline Police said they took him into custody just after 3 p.m. Thursday, May 24, 2012.

Police said his bond was set at $200,000. He is being held at the Rock Island County jail.

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