Rhodis, the former director of coaching/training for the Fairfield Optimist Soccer Club, was scheduled to stand trial Thursday on two counts of voyeurism, a third-degree misdemeanor. He had been free on a $2,000 bond, and his case had been continued five times in the past year before today’s no contest plea was entered.
Rhodis was arrested in July 2013 following an investigation by Butler County Sheriff’s detectives into accusations that the soccer coach was using a cellphone to record a teen and a woman undressing in the bathroom of his residence.
According to detectives, the teen said she was at Rhodis’ residence for a “training session” and believed she was video recorded while changing clothes in the bathroom. Further investigation revealed a 21-year-old victim who was also alleged she was video-recorded while changing clothes at that residence.
Michael Shanks, Rhodis’ defense attorney, said his client doesn’t believe he committed an offense.
“It wasn’t his purpose to do something illegal, but it certainly created a situation he feels sorry about,” Shanks said. “I think this is the best result for everybody.”
Shanks said Rhodis didn’t want to put his family through a trial, and “he actually felt compassion for the young ladies involved in this situation. He didn’t want to put them through the trial.”
Shanks said the case has had a “dramatic impact” on Rhodis.
“He was a well-known person in the soccer world,” he said. “This type of thing is a serious problem for him. He hopes to put it behind him.”
Rhodis, a Fairfield High School graduate, has played for professional indoor soccer teams and is the all-time leading scorer at Thomas More College. He was suspended from his job with the Fairfield Optimist Soccer Club shortly after his arrest, and he is no longer listed as an employee in the staff directory on the organization’s website.
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