PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI/WFLA) — A former Hillsborough County assistant principal was found guilty Friday of giving a teenage boy a foot rub against his will.

Olayinka Alege, 41, was convicted of simple assault, a misdemeanor, for the incident that took place at a Warwick gym nearly a year ago.

Police said the alleged incident was caught on video, but Alege has vigorously denied those claims, arguing the footage doesn’t show what police say it does.

That video wasn’t made public until it was shown in the courtroom Friday as the teenager who made the accusation took the stand to testify.

The video shows the boy stretching when a man he identified as Alege approached him and started asking about his sneakers. It was then, according to the boy, that Alege took off his sneaker and sock without asking permission and began forcibly massaging his bare foot.

The teen told the court he felt violated and offended by Alege’s actions. He also claimed Alege winked at him after the unwanted foot rub.

The defense questioned the witness, asking him to clarify some of his statements.

Alege denied taking the boy’s shoe off without his permission in an interview at the Warwick Police Department following the incident. During the interview, which was shown in court, Alege also denied having a foot fetish.

The trial was delayed several times due to the pandemic and Alege challenging the arrest. However, Alege did not take the stand in his own defense during the trial.

His attorney filed a motion in October requesting a hearing to determine whether his client was arrested based on false information, which was granted.

The motion states, using a pseudonym for the victim, “At no point [in the video] can the viewer observe Mr. Alege pick up Brian’s foot; take off Brian’s shoe; grab Brian’s heel; pull off Brian’s sock; massage Brian’s foot; or the struggle Brian described.”

Later that week, lawyers for the city of Warwick responded with a motion saying police had sufficient probable cause to arrest Alege.

At the time of his arrest in May, Alege was working as a network superintendent for Providence Public Schools. Days later, he resigned from the post and pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Harrison Peters, the former Providence superintendent who hired Alege, was terminated later that month after it was discovered he knew of similar allegations against Alege from a school district in Florida but failed to inform his superiors or the hiring committee. Alege was never charged in those cases.

The state-run district went without a permanent superintendent until earlier this week.

Both Alege and Peters once worked in the Hillsborough County Public School system. Alege was an assistant principal at King High School in Tampa for 15 years while Peters worked as the chief of schools for the district before taking the Providence job in 2020.

Alege was also accused of touching students’ feet while working at King High School. According to a 2009 report by the Sun Sentinel, five boys came forward and said the former assistant principal popped their toes after calling them to his office for their lagging grades.

At the time, the former principal said it was all in good fun, and a district spokesman said the assistant principal’s actions were not considered corporal punishment.

The spokesman also said Alege did not hurt or threaten the kids, although the children told deputies they did not like their feet being touched.

Fast-forward to 2022, Alege is being convicted for doing the same thing.

The conviction results in a one-year court filing, which means that if Alege doesn’t commit any crimes within that timeframe, the charge will be expunged from his record. The judge also ordered Alege to have no contact with the victim nor his family.

While Alege respects the court’s decision, he still doesn’t agree with it, according to his attorney.

“The court’s decision is what it is,” Attorney J. Dixon-Acosta said. “Mr. Alege has the right to appeal. He will consider all of his options.”