Members of a Torrington, Connecticut baseball umpires’ association are defending a decision to present a lifetime achievement award for youth umpiring to a convicted child sex offender.

The Torrington Board of Approved Baseball Umpires presented the award on August 6 to 52-year-old Tom Barbero.  The Board is part of a statewide organization that recruits, trains, and assigns umpires to local high school, middle school and youth league games.                

The award presented to Barbero recognized 28 years of service with the Torrington Board. The controversy over the Board’s decision to present the award stems from Barbero’s conviction for sexually assaulting teenage boys in the 24th and 25th years of service.

Police accused Barbero in 2000 of sexually assaulting three teenage boys in 1994 and 1995.  Barbero would plead no contest to and was convicted on charges of second-degree sexual assault with a victim between the ages 13 and 15 years and risk of injury to a minor.

Barbero served 4 years of a 10-year prison sentence and is still serving a 35-year probation as a registered sex offender leading some to question the Board’s decision to present Barbero with the award.

Torrington Board head R.J. Poniatoski defended the decision on Friday citing all that Barbero did for the town of 37,000.

“We gave him the award because he was a great umpire,” said Poniatoski.  “He did a lot for our board, basically put Torrington on the map.”

Yeah.  Dark Side will give you that he put you on the map.  But the map for what?

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