HALL COUNTY, Ga. — Investigators say an alleged sexual assault that landed a high school coach in jail happened right before a basketball game on campus.
The fast-moving investigation started with the accusation, then a suspension, resignation and arrest -- happening in less than five days.
“It's very disturbing. We're talking about an adult and a child. It's not only illegal, it's inappropriate. It's wrong,” Lt. Scott Ware, of the Hall County Sheriff’s Office, told Channel 2 investigative reporter Nicole Carr.
That's as much as Hall County authorities can say about the allegations against Web Daniel, 52.
Daniel, a middle school teacher and Chestatee High School girls basketball coach, is charged with sexually assaulting one of his players.
He was arrested at his home Tuesday night.
“There was unwanted, inappropriate sexual contact,” Ware said.
While warrants were not immediately available, an incident report that Carr obtained through an open records request reveals the alleged assault happened between 4 and 5 p.m. Thursday on campus.
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An online schedule shows a set of athletic events going on at the same time, including a home varsity basketball game, which started just an hour later.
The next morning, the player told a school resource officer about the alleged assault and Daniel was immediately suspended.
Carr was unable to reach Daniel at his home Wednesday. Earlier in the day, he had submitted a resignation letter.
It was an end to the connection he'd had with the school for more than a decade.
“Less than a week's time between the disclosure and the arrest. Really quick,” Ware said about the timeline of the case.
The Hall County School District released a statement Wednesday:
"The Chestatee High administration was first made aware of the allegations against Coach Web Daniel on the morning of November 17, 2017. This prompted an immediate investigation that led to Coach Daniel’s suspension from all teaching and coaching duties that same day from the Hall County School District. The school resource officer, who is an employee of the Hall County Sheriff’s Office, took the student’s statement and submitted it in to the Sheriff’s Office, which started law enforcement’s investigation into the matter.
"During the course of this ongoing investigation, the Chestatee administration and the Office of the Superintendent of the Hall County School District has provided needed support and cooperation to law enforcement officials and will continue to do so.
"As a district, we are truly saddened by the incident because the care and safety of our students is our top priority. We commend the Chestatee High School administration for working as a team with their school resource officer to give these serious allegations the immediate attention deserved, which was followed by the necessary action of suspending Mr. Daniel from all teaching and coaching duties during the course of the investigation. As noted in the media release sent early this morning, Coach Web Daniel has presented a letter of resignation to the Hall County School District."
One former basketball parent told Carr that the incident is a witch hunt. She praised the coach for his contributions to the school and said there are always two sides to the story.
Daniel posted an $11,000 bond for the sexual assault and battery charges.
Cox Media Group
