Former Connecticut High School Softball Coach Charged With Sexual Assault Faces Civil Lawsuit

Former Norwalk High School head varsity softball coach Cary Nadel, 70, of Wilton, Connecticut, was arrested on May 9, 2025, by the Norwalk Police Department and was charged with four misdemeanor counts of Fourth Degree Sexual Assault and a single felony count of Risk of Injury to a Minor.

The incidents allegedly occurred on school grounds and involved players Nadel was coaching. He is currently at liberty on a secured bond and the next scheduled hearing in the case will be held in the Stamford Superior Court on August 26.

Nadel was hired to be the head softball coach at Norwalk High School prior to the 2024 season. He ceased coaching the team in March 2025, reportedly at the request of the school's administration.

The police investigation that resulted in the current criminal charges began on April 1, 2025.

One player reportedly told police, "There were numerous times when Nadel would slap her on her buttocks and sometimes he would leave his hand on her butt when he would talk to her. When he would do this to her, she felt 'uncomfortable, fearful, weirded out and disgusted.' "

The families of three of the alleged victims have since filed a civil suit on July 17 in Stamford Superior Court seeking monetary damages from Nadel, the Norwalk Board of Education and the City of Norwalk. The plaintiffs were not identified by name, but were listed as Jane Doe 1, 2 and 3 in the complaint.

The civil complaint dated July 8 alleges that the three alleged victims were all on the Norwalk High School softball team during the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 softball seasons and that Nadel subjected them to "unwanted sexual touching of their intimate body parts, inappropriate sexual conduct and other degrading conduct."

In the lawsuit, it was alleged that "Nadel regularly placed his hand on the lower backs, hips, waists, buttocks, thighs and inner thighs of the Plaintiffs without consent while purportedly 'coaching them.'

It was also alleged that Nadel "would wrap his arm around the Plaintiffs' waists and pull them tightly against his body so that their hips touched." The complaint noted that in addition, Nadel would slap the Plaintiffs and other players on their buttocks and make body-shaming comments.

On May 12, 2025, Jesse Leavenworth of The Hour reported that the Department of Children and Families (DCF) had opened an investigation into Nadel in 2021 after a teacher at a different unnamed school district reported that a female student told him during a conversation about different coaching styles, "At least you don't put your hands on girls' butts," referring to Nadel. It was later revealed that Nadel previously coached softball at Brookfield High School.

The Brookfield, Conn., police subsequently investigated the matter involving Nadel touching female softball players' buttocks.

According to The Norwalk Hour, investigatory documents indicated police interviewed juvenile female softball players and determined that he had indeed touched the intimate body parts of some of the players.

However, the documents indicated, "...the players dismissed the unwanted touching by thinking of it as 'coaching.'" Brookfield police did not arrest Nadel, but warned him that he could have been arrested if the players had pursued charges.

The recently filed civil complaint also noted the 2021 DCF and Brookfield Police Department investigations. It is alleged that "despite these prior reports the City of Norwalk and the Norwalk Board of Education, individually and/or by and through their agents, servants and/or employees, continued to employ and allow" Nadel to serve as the head softball coach with "unfettered access to minor female athletes."

The plaintiffs allege the City of Norwalk engaged in negligent hiring, training and supervision of Nadel. In the complaint, it was alleged that the City failed to train and supervise Nadel adequately; failed to monitor or have policies in place to prevent inappropriate physical contact; failed to intervene despite complaints and notice of inappropriate behavior and failed to provide adequate oversight of coach-athlete interactions.

In addition to being a high school softball coach, Nadel was a co-founder and director of CT Rebels Softball, a Connecticut-based travel softball program. He also worked as a scout for National Scouting Report.

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