Former diver tells Megyn Kelly she was manipulated into sexual relationship with Ohio State coach when she was 16
In her first public interview, former diver Eszter Pryor told Megyn Kelly about her alleged sexual abuse at the hands of a former Ohio State assistant diving coach, Will Bohonyi. She says it started in 2014, when she was only 16 years old and he was 27. In her account, after they exchanged nude photos via text, their relationship turned physical.
“It became sexual very fast. It was within a week,” Pryor said, recalling how he reportedly groomed her. “It was, ‘You’re mature, you’re kind, you’re honest’ to ‘Here’s a picture and I kind of expect this from you.’”
Kelly asked Pryor if she ever realized it was an abusive relationship or if she thought it was consensual. Pryor said, “I would say it was 50/50.”
This month, Pryor, acting as the lead plaintiff in a class action complaint, sued Bohonyi, U.S.A Diving, and the Ohio State University Diving club over the sexual abuse she says she endured. That abuse had multiple repercussions.
“My identity was changed because somebody like him had such an effect on me and had such an effect on this community that he changed it and I was a liar,” Pryor told Kelly. “And that’s what these people do.”
Ohio State fired Bohoni two weeks after opening an investigation into his alleged abuse. USA Diving put him on its banned coaches list in 2015. But Pryor’s lawyer doesn’t think that goes far enough.
“The only thing [Ohio State] did was protect their own image by getting rid of the bad guy. But as far as releasing a predator to the community, that’s what they’re guilty of,” said Robert Allard, Pryor’s lawyer.
Megyn Kelly reached out to Ohio State for a statement and read the reply aloud. It said, in part, “OSU has no tolerance for sexual misconduct and in 2014 immediately upon learning of the allegations … placed [Bohonyi] on administrative leave that same day. The university’s police division conducted an investigation that was closed at Eszter’s request but its administrative investigation continued and resulted in Mr. Bohonyi’s termination.”
USA Diving did not directly comment to Kelly on Pryor’s lawsuit but previously issued this statement: “Providing a safe environment for our members is of tremendous importance to USA Diving, and we take these matters very seriously.”
R. Kelly has addressed his own accusations of sexual misconduct:
