High school coach inappropriately touched girls, spanked two of them, Texas police say

A high school football coach is accused of inappropriately touching five female students, making sexual comments toward them, and spanking two of the girls, according to a Texas school district’s police department.

Lonnie Teagle, the now-former coach of Patricia E. Paetow High School, has been charged with indecency with a child and improper relationship with a student in Harris County, court records show.

Officers with Katy Independent School District were called to the high school to investigate on Oct. 11 after two students complained about Teagle to administration.

One of the girls told police the head football coach was touching her and her 15-year-old best friend in a sexual manner, according to the probable cause statement.

She reported his actions began around Sept. 1 with inappropriate comments, which then escalated to “inappropriate hugs,” officials said. During those hugs, the student said Teagle would move his hands lower onto their buttocks while telling them not to tell anyone.

Then, on Sept. 5, the student said she was pulled onto his lap while in a school office. She noticed he had an erection once she got up, officials said.

Two days later, she recalled the coach taking her and her friend “into a random room” they hadn’t seen before and said “he was going to spank them,” according to court records. She said she was bent over his lap and hit about three times before she could get off of him. Then he spanked her friend in a similar way, officials said.

The second student who went to school administration reported similar allegations, officials said. She recalled Teagle telling her she had a “big booty” while at a junior varsity football game, then “he pulled her from the press box to get snacks.”

She said she complained about sore feet while walking, and he suggested they could massage each other’s feet, according to court records.

Over the next few days, she said his hugs went from grabbing at her waist to grabbing her butt, authorities said. She said he’d also smack her and another girl at their hip and butt area “multiple times.”

During the Sept. 5 incident, when she was also pulled on his lap, she said she felt his erect penis, according to court records. This was one of several times where she said she felt he was erect as she touched her.

She also recalled one time when Teagle rubbed between her thighs and made contact with her vagina while over her clothes, officials said.

This student said that when they were in the room where they were spanked, the coach also asked if they liked sex, officials said.

The next day, she said he “brought them both Chipotle as an apology” — then “formally apologized” on Sept. 9, according to the probable cause statement. She said the “inappropriate sexual contact” stopped after that.

The day after the two girls talked with school district police, authorities said three more female students came forward with allegations against Teagle.

They said he touched them and made inappropriate comments toward them, according to court records. They said they had been scared to report him due to his “high status at the school.”

In investigating the case, authorities learned there were also complaints filed against him in September by Katy ISD staff who work at a junior high school. Three staff members said Teagle “made them feel uncomfortable on multiple occasions due to his inappropriate comments, touching and mannerisms.”

“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,” Katy ISD said in a statement to McClatchy News. “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.”

Teagle resigned in October “due to personal reasons,” according to a district letter obtained by KHOU.

Katy ISD is west of Houston.

Complaints were also made against Teagle while he worked with Denton Independent School District, part of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, in October 2021, authorities said. He was accused of commenting about a female student’s breasts and asking other girls for a back rub.

A Denton ISD spokesperson said in a statement to McClatchy News that it has “turned over all information to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office regarding a former employee whom they have under investigation.”

“The district is in full cooperation,” the spokesperson said. “While the individual in question was an employee of Denton ISD, an allegation of inappropriate comments was investigated, and the employee was reprimanded for the use of unprofessional language.”

The statement called the “behavior of this individual while at” Katy ISD “simply unacceptable.”

“Know that any time allegations of this nature are brought to us, we act swiftly and effectively to take appropriate action,” the statement continued. “We applaud the individual(s) who bravely came forward and the Katy ISD administration who acted swiftly upon receiving the information and reported it to authorities.”

Teagle was released after making his $30,000 bond, court records show. He’s scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 28.

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