Thomas Ott leaves hospital, indicted on 53 counts, sent back to prison

A Sussex County grand jury has returned an indictment listing 53 charges against former Cape Henlopen High School head football coach Thomas A. Ott of Lewes.

He is now being held at James T. Vaughn Correctional Facility in Smyrna on $250,000 cash-only bail. John Painter, Department of Correction spokesman, said Ott was returned to prison Friday, June 4.

Charges include five counts of second-degree rape of a person less than 16 years old, two charges of fourth-degree rape, second-degree unlawful imprisonment and numerous charges of unlawful sexual contact.

The indictment also charges Ott with offensive touching and endangering the welfare of a child; these charges are related to a second victim.

Court documents state Ott’s raping of the victim began in September 2006 and continued until the April 8 arrest at his Savannah Road home.

Ott, 39, was released on $177,500 secured bond April 16. He was wearing a Department of Correction electronic monitoring device and had been staying in a Dover motel. Ott was on unsupervised status and was not required to check in with correction officials on as regular a basis as a person on supervised status. He was allowed to drive as long as he did not violate conditions of his release.

Following what Dover police said was a suicide attempt, Ott was hospitalized April 29, after jumping from the third story of an outside fire escape into the parking lot of a building at 555 E. Loockerman Street.

Initially he was transported to Bayhealth Kent General Hospital in Dover with severe facial, head and chest injuries.

Dover police said Ott was later airlifted to Christiana Hospital in critical condition.
At the time of his arrest Ott was employed as a paraprofessional worked with special education students.

Cape Henlopen School District Director of Human Resources Tim Buckmaster said Ott was terminated April 19.