Youth volunteer confesses to child sex assault

Update: Andrew Vanderwal was sentenced to 24 years to life in prison for one count of child sex assault.

A former volunteer with the NoCo Ice Center's youth hockey program faces child sexual assault charges after making a confession to police last week.

Fort Collins police arrested 26-year-old Andrew Todd Vanderwal on Nov. 1 in relation to incidents that allegedly took place at his Fort Collins home, not at the ice rink.

He faces charges of sexual assault of a child, sexual assault of a child by someone in a position of trust and sexual assault of a child younger than 15, all felonies.

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Vanderwal's roommate came home from work about 5:30 p.m. Oct. 27 and saw Vanderwal get up from the couch where he'd been lying with an unidentified boy, according to Vanderwal's arrest affidavit. It's unclear of the child's relationship with Vanderwal, but the two are not related, according to Fort Collins police.

Vanderwal's roommate noticed the boy seemed quiet and withdrawn. The next morning, the child told an unidentified person that Vanderwal had touched his genitals and the abuse had been "going on for some time," according to the affidavit.

The boy later told detectives Vanderwal had touched his genitals under his clothes on two separate occasions. During a phone call with his roommate, Vanderwal admitted to sexually abusing the boy twice over a four-month period, according to the affidavit.

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Vanderwal eventually confessed to Fort Collins police that he touched the boy's genitals five times, according to the affidavit.

Vanderwal volunteered with NoCo Ice Center's U8 hockey program for children age 8 and younger, but the center cut ties with him after learning of his arrest, said Sarah Nelson, director of rink operations. 

After posting $7,500 bond, Vanderwal was released from the Larimer County Jail and will remain out of jail during court proceedings. He's due in the Larimer County Justice Center at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday for his first appearance.

Fort Collins Police Services hasn't received any indication that Vanderwal acted inappropriately with children under his care at the ice rink, but anyone who feels they might have been victimized by Vanderwal is encouraged to contact Fort Collins Police Det. Brinton Deighton at 970-221-6340.

Clarification: The headline of this article was modified to clarify there was no link between the alleged assault and the NoCo Ice Center.