Ex-softball coach takes deal in New York college sex case

SOUTH NYACK, N.Y. (AP) The former women's softball coach at a suburban New York Christian college charged with sexually harassing his players won't have to register as a sex offender after pleading guilty to seven misdemeanor counts of forcible touching, his attorney said Saturday.

But former Nyack College coach Kurt Ludwigsen still faces a civil lawsuit from three members of his team who say he at one point also invited them to get life coaching from an adult film star.

Ludwigsen will serve three years of probation and complete community service following his guilty plea earlier this month, attorney David Goldstein said.

''He's ready to put it all behind him and get this over with,'' Goldstein said.

Ludwigsen, 44, a married father of two, had been accused by more than a dozen players of kissing, touching and sexually harassing them, prompting authorities to charge him last April with nearly 200 counts. He was fired in March.

In an ongoing civil lawsuit in Manhattan federal court, three members of the softball team sued the school for unspecified damages, claiming it failed to protect them against Ludwigsen.

Ludwigsen touched them inappropriately by licking their ears, telling them to sit on his lap, lying on top of them, kissing their faces and punching one of them in the breasts for perceived batting errors, according to the lawsuit.

Todd Krouner, a lawyer for the players, said they are ''delighted'' Ludwigsen admitted his guilt.

''No one else should ever be subjected to the assault and harassment these athletes were subjected to,'' Krouner told the Daily News, which first reported the plea deal.