Aaron Thomas 'naked fat test' case moves forward after judge tosses motion to dismiss

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (WPRI) — The criminal case over so-called "naked fat tests" against former North Kingstown coach Aaron Thomas will move forward after a judge ruled against his request to have the charges tossed out.

R.I. Superior Court Judge Melanie Wilk Thunberg on Tuesday rejected Thomas's motion to dismiss two criminal charges, second-degree child molestation and second-degree sexual assault.

The former high school basketball coach has pleaded not guilty in the high-profile case, which has been winding through the courts since 2022.

Last month, Thomas's attorney John MacDonald argued that while the optics were "not great" in terms of his client's alleged conducting of physical tests on student-athletes while they were naked and alone behind closed doors, there was no evidence he did so with the intent of "sexual gratification."

MacDonald also argued the second-degree sexual assault charge was filed improperly because it happened outside of the state's three-year statute of limitations tied to the offense.

Thunberg ruled against both arguments, issuing a 26-page written decision that said the second-degree sexual assault charge was filed just a couple months before the three-year window closed. She also ruled there was enough probable cause for both charges to move forward.

"The totality of the circumstances demonstrates sufficient probable cause to believe a crime has been committed by the defendant," Thunberg wrote in the decision. "The defendant was in a position of trust and authority conducting tests on adolescents."

In a footnote, Thunberg wrote the government's charging document against Thomas contains more than 1,000 pages of material and 42 exhibits.

Brian Hodge -- a spokesperson for Attorney General Peter Neronha -- said in a statement, "We are pleased with the Court’s decision and are committed to moving forward with the prosecution."

In a joint statement from Thomas's attorneys, MacDonald and John Calcagni, said they were disappointed in the decision, but they were "mindful of the extremely low standard of probable cause."

"Aaron Thomas maintains his innocence and looks forward to his day in court," the attorneys said.

As Target 12 first reported in 2021, several former student-athletes came forward to accuse the former coach of conducting the naked fat-tests. The students alleged Thomas, who worked and coached at North Kingstown High School for nearly three decades, would regularly call students into his office and direct them to strip down to their underwear.

The former students said Thomas would then ask if they were "shy or not shy," and if they responded that they weren't shy, he would direct them to take off their underwear before conducting a series of body-fat tests on their bodies.

The students said they often felt obliged to do the tests. In her decision, Thunberg cited one former student who told police Thomas also conducted a "puberty tests" on him and he "just felt powerless."

"The defendant allegedly never explained to [the victim] why he needed to be in his underwear for the tests or the purpose of the 'puberty test,'" Thunberg wrote, later adding that the testing "was neither momentary nor isolated."

The ruling represents a win for the former students who have been fighting behind the scenes to move the case forward.

While Thomas has only been charged with two criminal offense, police interviewed more than 30 former students who described similar experiences to the two victims involved in the case. He conducted the testing regimen on hundreds of students and Target 12 has interviewed former students who went through the tests dating back to the mid-1990s.

Tim Conlon, a private attorney who represents some of the former students in a civil case, said he was "pleased to see the court took the time to carefully walk through the many arguments presented by Thomas in his attempt to avoid accountability for his action, and found they gave him no shelter from criminal prosecution."