PITTSBURGH -- A former cheerleading coach was sentenced to 15 years in prison for taking teenagers overseas with the intent of having sex with them, WTAE's Bob Mayo reported Thursday.
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Victims Talk About Cheerleader Sex Case
Scott Hayward, 34, of Coraopolis, was found guilty in July of transporting two girls, ages 14 and 15, with the intent to commit a sexual assault. He was found not guilty of a second count involving the transportation of an 18-year-old.
Hayward (pictured, left) cried in the courtroom and pleaded with U.S. District Judge Alan Bloch for ""mercy and compassion,"" but Bloch imposed the maximum sentence allowable.
""You placed these girls in terror and fear while you should have been protecting them,"" Bloch told Hayward. ""The emotional scars you have left these girls with may last well beyond the years of your punishment.""
Hayward, former owner of Pennsylvania Cheerleading Center Inc., went to London in April 2000 with six teens and allegedly told them that they would compete in a cheering competition, but that never happened.
During his trial, Hayward testified that he did not have sexual contact with the teens, but he admitted to behaving improperly by drinking alcohol with them, allowing them to go to clubs and telling them that they could keep the details private.
""What happens in London stays in London,"" Hayward said he told the girls.
Before leaving the country, Hayward assured the teens' parents that ""if you raised your kids right, there won't be any problems"" on the trip.
""I admit to lying to parents, and I'm sorry,"" Hayward testified.
Once Hayward and the girls were on the plane, ""I might have said, 'Let the party begin,'"" he testified.
Hayward allegedly molested the 14-, 15- and 18-year-olds in their hotel room, and police said his DNA matched a sample taken from semen on the females' clothes.
He told a Scotland Yard investigator that he doesn't remember what happened because he blacked out during that period of time.
In addition to the prison time, Hayward was sentenced to three years' probation and ordered to register as a convicted sexual offender.
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