A New York State district attorney says that while the two victims of Syracuse assistant coach Bernie Fine’s alleged molestation crimes are credible, no charges will be brought because the statute of limitations has passed.

Bobby Davis and his stepbrother Michael Lang both accused Fine of molesting them at the school’s athletic facilities, on the road and at his home when the two were underage ballboys for the Orangemen back in the late 1980s. Davis first tried to come forward in 2002 with the allegations but was rebuffed and both men recently told their stories.

The 65-year-old Fine was originally placed on administrative leave from the job he had held since 1976 when the accusations first became public last month and last week he was fired after a recorded phone conversation with Davis' wife back in 2002 revealed she knew about the molestation.

“On almost every single criteria, Bobby Davis came out as a credible person,” Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick told the Associated Press on Wednesday. “Mike Lang also comes across as a credible person.”

Fitzpatrick blames the police department for not doing enough about Davis’ claims in 2002 when Fine could have received at least a misdemeanor charge for the alleged crimes. He does not blame Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim, who has insisted from the start that he had never seen any of evidence of wrongdoing by his longtime top assistant coach.

Fitzpatrick went as far as to say calls for Boeheim’s job and the chancellor’s resignation should stop.

“Hasn’t Bernie Fine caused enough pain in this community?” Fitzpatrick said.

Contact Terrance Harris at terrancefharris@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @Terranceharris

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