Mar 27, 2008 11:57 pm US/Central
H.S. Coach Charged With Sexual Assault Of Teens
Walter Payton Prep Boys Basketball Coach Fired After Allegations Surfaced
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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George Turner, 46, was charged with two counts of criminal sexual assault on Thursday for allegedly fondling two 15-year-old girls and having oral sex with one of them.
CBS
Bond was set at $275,000 Thursday for a high school basketball coach charged with the sexual assault of two 15-year-old female students.
The Payton College Prep coach is charged with criminal sexual assault in incidents police say started in December of last year.
CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports 45-year-old George Turner, the school's boy's basketball coach, was once the Chicago Public League's basketball coach of the year.
Turner was fired last month when the allegations surfaced.
Turner began assaulting the first victim on Dec. 20, 2007, touching her breasts in the athletic director's office, according to Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Kathleen Muldoon.
Other incidents followed, some of which occurred in Turner's car, she said.
"The incidents occurred December 20, 2007 to February 28, 2008, at either the school or the defendant's car," Tandra Simonton of the Cook County State's Attorney's office told WBBM 780 in a phone interview.
Prosecutors say on one occasion, Turner took one victim to an adult sex shop, purchased a vibrator and shorts and later assaulted her with it while the two were at the lakefront. Prosecutors say those items were taken as evidence after police were notified.
On Feb. 28, Turner allegedly touched the breasts of another girl, also 15. The second victim told the first victim, and they reported the incidents to authorities the following day, Muldoon said.
Turner's family did not comment on his arrest. But Rick Pryor – Turner's friend and Tilden High School's athletic director – says the charges aren't consistent with the man he knows.
"I was quite surprised, yes, because I've always known George to be a man of integrity, a family man, a man who's passionate about the use of sport as a youth development tool," Pryor said.
Turner's lawyer, William Laws, said the coach has been married for 17 years and has two children, including a 15-year-old daughter.
A graduate of Wheaton Central High, Turner previously coached a semi-pro basketball team in Michigan, Laws said.
Turner made no statement in court, and will be back before a judge on April 16.
CBS 2's Dana Kozlov and the STNG Wire contributed to this report.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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