KOKOMO, Ind. — A coach who has been with the Taylor Community School Corporation in Kokomo for more than 20 years is accused of having sex with one of his players. This comes three months after a former Taylor High School teacher was charged with a child sex crime.
A statement from the district's Superintendent Steve Dishon says:
"Upon hearing the initial accusations, the district immediately put the individual on leave from his groundskeeping and coaching duty while the investigation was underway. As the situation developed and facts were uncovered, Taylor Community School Corporation terminated the accused individual’s employment and trespassed him from any Taylor property or event in which Taylor students participate.
We are cooperating fully with the police investigation as the safety and security of our students is always our priority. These accusations are deeply disturbing and we encourage parents to take the time to discuss with your children how to recognize grooming behavior and to report anything that makes them uncomfortable to a trusted adult."
Kristina Korobov is the senior attorney for the Zero Abuse Project.
"For most offenders, grooming looks like getting to know a child," Korobov said. "Figuring out what their wants and what their needs are for attention or affection, or appreciation. It may start out with someone being interested in something a child is interested in."
Korobov said, oftentimes, grooming will lead to breadcrumbs being dropped.
"So, maybe the person in trust tells an inappropriate joke and the child doesn't immediately go and tell their parents," Korobov said. "Well, the coach knows that's OK or the teacher knows that's OK, so they just start to push those boundaries of the child and as long as it's not reported, as long as the child doesn't seem uncomfortable with it, or resistant to it, it'll be easier to take that next step, and that next ... and that next step."
The family tells me they fully trusted the coach with all their children. He'd even hang out with all of them and sometimes take the kids to their school activities. Korobov said that's one of the main goals of a predator, to gain the trust of the family.
"Oftentimes at sentencing hearings, you'll have the child's mother or father, or relatives speak and say, 'I know my child was victimized, but I've also started therapy because I feel responsible for what happened to my child. I'm the one who gave this perpetrator access, I trusted him, and I never saw this happening,'" Korobov said.
The girl's family said they found out about the alleged relationship after going through her phone, something Korobov recommends all parents do from time to time.
As for what else parents can do, she suggests setting boundaries with people and asking questions.