SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (WPRI) — Aaron Thomas apologized Tuesday for getting hundreds of former North Kingstown High School students naked for his body fat-testing program, and tried to explain why he lied about it over the years.

The apology emerged during the former coach's third day on the stand in the trial against him. He's pleaded not guilty to second-degree child molestation and second-degree sexual assault.

Thomas coached high school boys' basketball for nearly 30 years and estimated that more than 600 student athletes participated in his so-called "naked fat test" program.

Thomas said Tuesday about 80% of those students — all boys — would get naked for the tests, which he administered inside a closet-like room at the former high school and inside his office at the current high school, which opened in 2001.

Students were alone with him for the tests, which involved Thomas measuring their upper inner thighs and pressing his fingers into their groin areas.

"I'm truly sorry," Thomas said in response to questions from his defense attorney, John Calcagni.

"I take full responsibility for it," he added. "It was a foolish thing."

Thomas also addressed his history of lying to authorities over the years, including telling a superintendent in 2018 and police in 2021 that students were never naked for the tests.

"I was concerned about my job," Thomas said when asked why he lied about the testing, adding that he was hoping to get back to his coaching. "I was so focused on that, and it's so wrong to be focused on that."

"Why should anybody believe anything you're saying?" Calcagni asked.

"In this courtroom, I'm under oath," Thomas replied. "I swore to say the truth."

Thomas added that his life has changed so much since the allegations against him became public and he lost his job. "I lost everything," he said.

Thomas' testimony fits into his defense attorneys' overarching strategy: to acknowledge that the naked testing was inappropriate, but argue that it never violated any laws.

"I understand how this is considered wrong," Thomas said.

Thomas also denied that he ever became aroused during any of the tests, which began in the 1990s, contradicting testimony from one of the complaining witnesses who told the jury earlier in the trial that he saw Thomas become visibly aroused.

"It did not happen," he said.

"Were you sexually gratified or aroused in any way by the sight of these adolescent genitalia?" Calcagni asked later.

"No," Thomas replied.

This contradiction creates a "he said, he said" predicament for the jury, which will ultimately have to decide who they believe is telling the truth in the case. Prosecutors will likely focus on trying to chip away at Thomas' credibility when they cross-examine the former coach on Wednesday.

Thomas said he never witnessed anyone getting aroused during the tests, and that he would have stopped a testing session if that ever happened.

"That's not the purpose of the test," he said. "It would be an embarrassing situation."

The issue is critical to the sexual assault charge, as the law requires the state to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Thomas was conducting the tests with the intent of sexual gratification or arousal.

Thomas' attorneys also tried to discredit the testimony of the complaining witness in the child molestation charge, who told the jury earlier in the trial that the naked testing began when he was 13 years old.

The age is critical to the state's case, as a child molestation charge requires that the complaining witness was 13 years or younger at the time of the molestation.

Calcagni showed a spreadsheet of data from Thomas' testing of the complaining witness, which suggested he was 14 years and one month old when the testing began.

"Did you ever test [the witness] when he was 13 years old?" Calcagni asked.

"No," Thomas replied.

Thomas also disputed that he ever tested the complaining witness inside a referee's locker room before a game, where the witness said Thomas tested him for a hernia. The witness said he was walking to the main gym after warming up ahead of the game.

"I would never test anyone after they do a physical activity -- it throws off the measurements," Thomas said.

Tuesday marked the 14th day of the trial, which started with witness testimony on April 7. Thomas is expected to resume testimony at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

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