A track coach was removed from a meet in Arkansas and placed on leave after being confronted in an online sting and accused of attempting to solicit sexual favors from an underage teenager.
Preds vs Prey, an online group known for accusing adults of inappropriate sexual relationships, confronted a man identified online as a Prescott High School track coach during a recent meet in nearby Nashville, Arkansas.
According to Preds vs Prey, the coach had requested sexual favors from an individual he believed to be 15. The man in question does not flatly deny the allegations in the video but instead offers a series of shifting explanations for the messages.
The video ends with the accused individual calling the team’s head coach.
‘I need you to come down here,’ the accused man said into his cell phone. ‘I’ll explain to you when you get here.
Although that person was named online, the school district did not identify him in its statement about the incident. Prescott School District Superintendent Larry Smith told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette the individual works in the district’s alternative learning center and coaches both track and football.
Prescott High School in southwest Arkansas has been a local track and field powerhouse
The school district has not identified the suspended coach by name amid the investigation
‘The safety and wellbeing of our students is always our first concern,’ read the April 8 statement posted on the district’s Facebook page. ‘The District first became aware of a social media post that was made from a track meet at Nashville High School at which a staff member was confronted by two people who were evidently broadcasting live on Facebook.
‘Once administration was made aware, the staff member was immediately removed from the premises, taken home by the District SRO, and notified that they were not to return until a meeting could be held this morning with the District Superintendent.’
As the statement explained, the meeting was held on the morning of April 8 and the accused employee was removed from campus until the issue is settled.
The investigation remains ongoing. The Daily Mail has reached out to the district for an update.
A city of just 3,100 residents, Prescott sits in Arkansas’ southwest corner
The 15-year-old girl believed to have received messages from the accused Prescott High coach attends another school district, according to the Democrat-Gazette.
‘At this time, we are not aware of any of our students being involved, but that does not decrease the seriousness of the accusation or the need to be fully investigated,’ the Prescott statement continued. ‘Since this is a personnel matter, the District is very limited in what we can share concerning this situation. If and when additional information becomes available that we can share, we will release additional statements.’
A city of just 3,100 residents, Prescott sits in Arkansas’ southwest corner and was the birthplace of former NBA player and coach, Paul Silas. The Prescott High School Curley Wolves are particularly dominant in track, winning their 15th state title in the sport just two years ago.
