ASHEVILLE, N.C., Aug. 11 (UPI) -- A former youth sports coach, who says he may have molested 40 to 50 children, was sentenced in North Carolina to 24 years in prison for child pornography.
Albert Charles Burgess already has served 17 years for molesting children, the Charlotte (N.C.) Observer reported.
Before his legal troubles, Burgess served as a youth sports coach in Gastonia, N.C., and as a youth football coach, using an assumed name, for the city of Charleston, S.C.
Before being sentenced in Asheville, N.C., Tuesday, Burgess was confronted in court by one of his victims, the Observer said. One of his victims from the 1970s, an unnamed woman in her 40s, asked Burgess if he remembered her.
"I don't, I'm sorry," Burgess, 62, told her.
Burgess argued against the 34-year sentence recommended by the prosecutor, who said he had thousands of images and videos on his computer, some depicting acts of torture against children.
Burgess contended child pornography was his only safe outlet for his pedophilia. "I haven't molested a child in 25 years," he told the judge.
