Girls basketball coach had ‘inappropriate’ contact with students, Georgia cops say
A Georgia high school basketball coach faces charges after he was accused of sex crimes involving students, state investigators say.
Derrick Harris, 44, was arrested March 1 after an investigation into accusations of “inappropriate sexual contact and advances” while he coached the girls varsity basketball team at Mitchell County High School in Camilla, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
The Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office asked the GBI to investigate on Feb. 16.
Harris was charged with one count of enticing a child for indecent purposes, one count of sexual assault by persons with supervisory authority, one count of sexual battery and two counts of solicitation of sodomy, according to a news release.
Authorities didn’t release additional details about the case.
The accused basketball coach has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, Mitchell County Schools Superintendent Rowland Cummings told McClatchy News.
“It’s a personnel issue, and that’s all I can say at this time,” Cummings said.
Camilla is about 200 miles south of Atlanta.
This story was originally published March 8, 2023 at 10:54 AM with the headline "Girls basketball coach had ‘inappropriate’ contact with students, Georgia cops say."