Former Horseback Riding Coach Jailed for Indecent Assault

An 83-year-old Grafton man who was accused of sexually assaulting a girl while he was a horseback riding coach in the 1990s has been sentenced to two years in the Worcester County Jail and House of Correction.

Charles M. Leffler, 83, of 14 Fay Mountain Rd., Grafton, pleaded guilty to indecent assault and battery this week, the Telegram & Gazette reported.

Leffler had originally faced statutory rape charges, but the charges were amended in Westborough District Court to indecent assault and battery.

The victim, now in her 30s, reported Leffler in 2012. She said she had worked with him at a horse stable and pony riding business in Grafton, as well as at a business that offered pony rides. The assaults reportedly started in 1994 when the student was 13 and continued for three years. 

In police reports, the victim described a "grooming process" that "led to a number of incidents of indecent assault and battery as well as a number of incidents of statutory rape."