Two Polk County youth ministers and a high school football coach have been arrested on charges of sex crimes against children in separate incidents, authorities said.
Matt Thompson, the 30-year-old head football coach at George Jenkins High School, was arrested Tuesday night and faces two counts of sexual battery by a person of custodial authority, according to the arrest affidavit.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Wednesday that Thompson invited a 17-year-old student at George Jenkins High School to his house three times and twice had sex with her.
Thompson was an assistant coach at Melbourne Central Catholic from 2005 to 2007. After his time there, he was named head coach at Wildwood High School in Sumter County.
Arturo Navarro, a 28-year-old youth pastor at First Assembly of God in Mulberry, was arrested and faces charges of lewd and lascivious behavior, enticing a child to distribute computer pornography and using a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony, according to the arrest affidavit.
A 14-year-old victim said that Navarro fondled her and made her touch him in December 2010 at the church, according to the report.
Deputies say Navarro asked the victim to send him sexy pictures.
Meanwhile, Edward Demoreta, who was a teacher and youth pastor was arrested and faces three charges of lewd battery, according to the arrest affidavit.
Deputies say that Demoreta, who tutored the victim at Mulberry Middle School in 2009-2010 school year, engaged in a sex act with her in a classroom.
Demoreta and the victim engaged in sexual acts on two different occasions and the victim sent him two nude photographs of herself, according to the affidavit.
Unbeknownst to each other, Demoreta and Navarro engaged in sex acts with the same girl, according to deputies.
Source: 10 News
