The Latest: Report: Trainer accused of abuse says he’s sorry

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Latest on a former Montana high school athletic trainer being sued for sexually abusing athletes (all times local):

2:50 p.m.

A former Montana high school athletic trainer has apologized to student-athletes via media interviews after they accused him of sexual abuse in the community of Miles City that lasted for decades.

KULR reports 78-year-old James E. ‘Doc” Jensen said he was sorry Friday in a telephone interview hours after The Billings Gazette reported 18 former athletes had sued him and the school district on behalf of themselves and other unknown victims.

The lawsuit alleges Jensen performed nude massages and sexual acts on the boys as part of what he called “The Program” to enhance their strength and testosterone levels.

Jensen told the Gazette he acknowledged some sexual abuse but denied other sex abuse allegations.

Jensen told the newspaper he hoped his actions “didn’t do a lot of emotional or other trauma to the boys.”

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10:15 a.m.

Former student athletes at a Montana high school say the school’s former athletic trainer sexually abused them and dozens of others under the guise of boosting their athletic performance.

They claim James E. “Doc” Jensen of Miles City performed nude massages and sexual acts on the boys as part of what he called “The Program” to enhance their strength and testosterone levels.

The lawsuit against Jensen and the school district was filed Friday on behalf of 18 known victims and an estimated 80 unknown victims.

Miles City attorney Daniel Rice tells The Billings Gazette that Jensen engaged in a “structured, sophisticated system of ritual sexual abuse.”

Jensen did not return a phone message seeking comment.

School district officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.