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Man recants Syracuse sex abuse charges

SYRACUSE, N.Y., Jan. 15 (UPI) -- One of four men who accused former Syracuse University assistant basketball Coach Bernie Fine of molesting him has recanted his allegations.

Floyd VanHooser, currently serving a long prison sentence for burglary, said in letters to Fine he lied when he claimed the coach sexually abused him in the 1960s, the Syracuse (N.Y.) Post-Standard reported Sunday.

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The newspaper obtained a copy of the letters VanHooser sent to Fine, who was fired as Coach Jim Boeheim's longtime assistant in November.

"I am writing this of my own free will," VanHooser wrote. "I need to right a wrong. In a statement I gave, I told a lot of lies about Bernie Fine. None of what I said was true."

VanHooser, the fourth man to accuse Fine of abuse, was previously dismissed by Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick as not credible.

Two other Fine accusers -- former Syracuse ball boys -- were credible, Fitzpatrick said, but he declined to press charges against the coach due to the statute of limitations.

Federal authorities are handling the accusations of another man, Zach Tomaselli.

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Fine has steadfastly denied any sexual misconduct.

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