KATY, Texas — Katy ISD's Paetow High School has named a new head football coach after the previous coach resigned during an investigation into an alleged improper relationship with a student.
The new coach is no stranger to the school. David Hicks was already Paetow's assistant football coach and has been serving as interim head coach ever since the previous coach, Lonnie Teagle, resigned
Teagle is facing two felony charges: Improper relationship with a student and indecency with a child. The charges come after five students came forward claiming he touched them inappropriately on multiple occasions at the school.
Teagle is currently out on a $30,000 bond.
What happened
At least five female students have accused Teagle of inappropriate touching and comments and one of them alleged he used his hand to touch her private parts over her clothes, according to court documents.
So far, Teagle has only been charged for the alleged actions against one of the students, a 15-year-old.
According to court documents, two 15-year-old students were separately interviewed in October by an officer with the Katy ISD Police Department.
One of them told the officer that Teagle had started touching her and the other 15-year-old, who she said was her best friend, around Sept. 1. She claimed Teagle started with inappropriate comments which turned into inappropriate hugs that began with his hands around the waist. He then slowly moved his hands to their lower butt, court documents read.
A couple of days later, Teagle allegedly pulled one of the girls onto his lap while they were in his office. The girl said she initially landed in his crotch area but she positioned herself so she would be on his leg, the court documents read. The documents also said that she could tell Teagle was aroused.
One of the teens said that on one occasion, Teagle rubbed her inner thigh and made contact with her private area with the side of his hand over her clothes, according to court documents.
Two days later, the girls both claimed Teagle took them into a random room at the high school and told them he was going to spank them, court documents read. The documents also said that one of the girls said he bent her over his lap and spanked her about three times before she could get up and then spanked her friend, too.
One of the girls then said he brought them Chipotle and apologized. The alleged inappropriate sexual contact stopped after that, court documents read.
About a month later, three more girls came forward with complaints about Teagle, according to court documents. The females told police Teagle would grab them by the hips, rub their thighs and even say comments like, "You're so pretty, I would date you if I were your age."
The girls told authorities they were scared to come forward because of Teagle's high status at the school.
He resigned from Paetow High School in October, right around the time the district said he was brought in for questioning for these allegations. He was only employed at Paetow for six months before he stepped down.
Investigators reviewed Teagle's case file and discovered he had complaints from Denton ISD where he is accused of making inappropriate comments to a female student.
Investigators also found out that Teagle had complaints from staff members who worked at Stocdick Junior High, which is near Paetow High School. The staff members said he made them feel uncomfortable due to inappropriate comments, touching and his mannerisms. Court documents read these allegations were not related to athletics or his high school athletic coordinator role and his behavior at the junior high was described as "not appropriate for the workplace."
Katy ISD released the following statement in regard to Teagle's arrest:
After several weeks of interagency investigations, the District has been informed by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office that it has accepted charges on former football coach, Lonnie Teagle. The District takes all potential safety concerns seriously. When made aware of any allegation concerning a staff member, the individual is immediately removed from their assignment(s), while District personnel work swiftly with law enforcement and other agencies to conduct a thorough investigation to ensure the safety and well-being of all students. Any further inquiries regarding the case are directed to the Harris County DA’s Office.