Missouri high school coach charged with sex crimes

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – A high school football coach has been charged with sex crimes involving a female student that allegedly occurred more than a decade ago, Jackson County prosecutors said.

Park Hill High School Coach Joshua Hood, 43, was charged Wednesday with five counts of statutory sodomy, second-degree attempted statutory rape, child molestation and second-degree statutory rape,.

Hood was a teacher and coach at Holden High School when the alleged crimes occurred in 2003 an 2004.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol began investigating in April when a woman reported that she had sexual encounters with Hood when she was younger than 17. She was a student at Holden High School at the time.

Hood’s attorney, Greg Watt, said Hood maintains his innocence. He said Hood has no criminal history and has a “stellar” reputation in the community, The Kansas City Star reported.

“We look forward to our opportunity to defend him in a court of law,” Watt said.

The Park Hill School District said Hood, who has been in the district since 2013, was on administrative leave. School officials said they were not aware of any similar allegations against Hood at Park Hill.

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