Former Ben Davis Coach Charged With Seducing 16-Year-Old Student
INDIANAPOLIS — Deputies on Monday arrested a former assistant track coach at Ben Davis High School High School who faces five charges of seducing a 16-year-old girl from January to April at the school, according to court documents and a report from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
Harrison Goss, 26, was charged Friday in Marion Superior Court 28 with five counts of child seduction, including one that claims he engaged in sexual intercourse with the girl. His initial court hearing was set for 9 a.m. Wednesday. Online court records say he’s to be held without bond until his initial hearing.
The court documents say Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department investigated allegations that a 16-year-old girl had a sexual relationship with the the coach that included sexual text messages, fondling and intercourse.
Wayne Township Schools learned of the messages after the 16-year-old girl had a sleepover in early April with a 15-year-old girl, who discovered the text messages between the 16-year-old and the coach on the 16-year-old’s phone. The 15-year-old girl typed the phone number from the messages into her phone and discovered it was the coach’s number. The 15-year-old girl later reported the text messages to Kim Carey, the high school’s dean of students.
The 16-year-old girl later told investigators that all of the incidents with Goss happened after track practice or meets. The girl also said she’d had sex with Goss in his car in the parking lot of an elementary school.
A detective said in court documents that the girl “had already told him previously that she did not want to have a sexual relationship with him. She believes this happened before she had sex with him in his vehicle.”
Investigators showed up in April at Goss’ home with a search warrant for his phone. They found it had the girl’s photo as the screenshot. He declined to talk with investigators unless he was with his lawyer.
News 8 reached out to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office for a jail booking photo of Goss, but received an empty email as a reply shortly before the administrative office closed for the day. News 8 has reached out again via email.
The chief communication officer for the Wayne Township Schools said Goss was fired. They declined to provide any other statement on the “active legal matter.”
