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http://nwitimes.com/news/breaking/article_...1cc4c03286.html

Former LaPorte coach turns himself over to authorities
By Christine Kraly and Marisa Kwiatkowski Times Staff Writers | Posted: Friday, December 18, 2009 12:05 am | (7) Comments

LAPORTE | A former LaPorte High School assistant girls volleyball coach was charged Thursday with multiple felonies for an alleged sexual relationship with a minor, an Indiana State Police spokeswoman confirmed.

And a Times investigation shows the charges could be a second black mark for LaPorte High School's volleyball team in the last two years.

Robert Ashcraft, 45, faces two felony counts of sexual misconduct with a minor and one felony count of child seduction, state police Sgt. Ann Wojas said.

The LaPorte resident turned himself in about 6:30 p.m. Thursday at LaPorte County Jail, Wojas said.

Wojas was unable to provide details of Ashcraft's charges Thursday, including when the alleged incidents occurred and whether they took place at LaPorte High School, where Ashcraft had been an assistant junior varsity coach. Wojas did report that the victim was younger than 16 years old at the time of the alleged incidents and that Ashcraft was not involved at the school other than in his coaching role.

LaPorte Community School Corp. officials announced Ashcraft's resignation at a district meeting Nov. 11, 2008.

Jim Dermody, the school corporation's assistant superintendent, said Thursday evening that he was unaware of Ashcraft's charges and felt it would be inappropriate to comment.

Other school and athletics officials contacted by The Times did not return phone calls seeking comment.

In an unrelated case in March, the U.S. Department of Education found that the LaPorte school corporation unlawfully retaliated against a student trainer who reported seeing what he believed was a professional trainer fondling a female volleyball player in 2007.

The federal agency's Office for Civil Rights found the corporation violated Title IX when it stripped then-senior Dan Vermette of his student trainer duties after he reported the 2007 incident.

Vermette -- who is now a computer specialist in the U.S. Marine Corps -- reported the alleged groping to both the school corporation and an outside employer that helped fund the professional trainer's salary, according to the Office for Civil Rights decision.

A school official told Vermette that reporting the incident to that outside employer was "incredibly inappropriate," federal records state.

[Southsider2k12]

The Feds say the LaPorte School system violated Federal Laws in this case.

http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/report-lapo...t-laws/31016428