A track coach who is HIV-positive is accused of grooming a 16-year-old boy before sexually assaulting him, according to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. Even worse, the coach had previously had similar accusations made against him but was never charged.
Police say the student at Lakeland High School told them that 40-year-old Jarvis Young inappropriately touched him while they spent a Saturday together. Young had allegedly tried to perform a sex act on the boy while he was massaging him, according to Judd. The sheriff said the coach had “groomed” the boy before the alleged incident.
Young was arrested and charged with four counts:
- sexual battery of a victim between 12-18 years of age by a custodial authority,
- lewd and lascivious acts by a 24-year-old or older on a victim between 16-17 years of age,
- abuse of a child without bodily harm,
- interfering with the custody of a minor, and
- being an HIV infected person and having sex without informing the partner.
Judd said that Young had previously been accused of sexually battering underage victims in 2011 but that the case had been dropped because the statute of limitations had run out.
“He got away with his before, and he wasn’t smart enough to quit!” said Judd during a media briefing.
Young is no longer employed at the district.
“Jarvis Young is a predator — he likes children in a way that no adult should, and he used his position of authority to take advantage of a child for his own illicit sexual gratification,” Judd added. “He needs to be locked up and never be allowed unsupervised near children again.”
School administrators said they would be reviewing their hiring practices to avoid hiring other alleged predators.
Police believe there may be other victims and are asking for help from the public in identifying them.
Here’s a local news report about the accusations:
Lakeland High track coach charged with sexual batterywww.youtube.com
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