KANSAS CITY (AP) — A former high school coach has admitted to having sex with an underage student while he was working in the Holden school district, prosecutors said.
Joshua D. Hood, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to five counts of second-degree statutory sodomy, two counts of second-degree statutory rape and one count of second-degree child molestation.
As part of a plea agreement, Hood was sentenced to five years of probation and agreed to surrender his teaching license. He would serve four years in prison if he violates probation.
Hood had been a coach in the Park Hill school district since 2013.
The sexual encounters with a high school student under the age of 17 occurred several times while Hood worked in Holden during the 2003-2004 school year, the Jackson County Prosecutor's office said.
Park Hill officials said in a statement they were unaware of any allegations of similar conduct by Hood since he was hired. Because he agreed to surrender his teaching license, his contract with the district is terminated.
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KANSAS CITY (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.
“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.