Court records obtained by The Associated Press show Michael Wayne Current, 66, was scheduled to enter pleas Tuesday in Marion County Circuit Court in Salem, Ore., on five counts of first-degree sexual abuse and one count of luring a minor.
Marion County Deputy District Attorney Will Lathrop said the charges involved three victims, all under the age of 14, and that the incidents occurred between 2004 and 2010.
Court records listed two girls and one boy as victims.
On Sunday, a woman friend of Current bought the bolt-action 20-gauge shotgun he used to kill himself and drove him from Portland to the Spirit Mountain Casino in Grande Ronde, where they spent the day, said Polk County sheriff’s Sgt. Michael Holsapple.
The woman stopped answering questions before investigators could determine her relationship with Current, or whether she drove him to the wildlife refuge, where he shot himself in the head at a viewing area, Holsapple said.
“That’s what the official cause of death is going to be, suicide by gunshot wound,” he said.
Two off-duty paramedics found Current dead Monday morning at a gazebo where birdwatchers gather to watch migrating waterfowl at the Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, Holsapple said.
Holsapple said Current coached youth football for a time in Silverton, Ore., where his ex-wife was from, but currently lived in Las Vegas. He had lung cancer.
The criminal charges were not related to Current’s coaching activities, Lathrop said.
Current, who had been living in a Salem motel since his arrest in late December, played left tackle at Ohio State and was a co-captain his senior season under coach Woody Hayes.
He was drafted in the third round of the 1967 AFL/NFL draft by the Denver Broncos. He also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Miami Dolphins, starting 164 of the 169 games he played.
He played in the 1969 Pro Bowl while with the Broncos.
TEBOW TIME … TO REST
Tim Tebow played through rib, lung and chest injuries he sustained in Denver’s 45-10 loss at New England in the AFC divisional playoffs last weekend.
He won’t need surgery and is expected to make a full recovery with some down time.
ESPN first reported Wednesday that the Broncos quarterback got hurt on a third-quarter tackle, then had trouble sleeping because of the pain and had medical tests on his chest Monday.
Team spokesman Patrick Smyth acknowledged that Tebow finished the game in considerable pain.
ROB LOWE PLUGGED IN
Rob Lowe is taking on another role – pigskin prognosticator.
The actor lit up social media Wednesday when he tweeted that Peyton Manning was done. Lowe said he’d heard from “my people” that the Indianapolis Colts quarterback would retire later in the day.
No official word yet from Manning, the 35-year-old star who missed this season with a neck injury. But ESPN’s Chris Mortensen tweeted that Manning’s father, Archie, laughed at Lowe’s report and said it wasn’t true.
Colts spokesman Avis Roper and Manning’s agent Tom Condon had no comment.
Lowe currently is on the NBC comedy series “Parks and Recreation” that’s set in Indiana. He’s also friends with Colts owner Jim Irsay – Lowe was the first person Irsay followed on Twitter.
Irsay tweeted his response to Lowe, saying “sources” say Lowe will star in an “epic remake” of a porn movie.
EXTRA POINTS
The Browns added former Seattle Seahawks assistant coach Nolan Cromwell to Pat Shurmur’s staff as a senior offensive assistant. He replaces former University of Washington head coach Keith Gilbertson, who retired. … Bengals cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones was sentenced to a year of probation, 50 hours of community service and a $250 fine after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct stemming from an incident at a downtown Cincinnati bar in July. … Tom Brady missed the Patriots’ first practice for the AFC Championship Game with an injury to his left (non-throwing) shoulder. … Green Bay offensive coordinator Joe Philbin interviewed for the Dolphins’ head coaching job for a second time.
