PORTAGE COUNTY, Ohio – A physical education teacher, who is also a coach at a local high school and a local high school, was taken to court after being accused of engaging in sexual relations with a 14-year-old who took advantage of the social media. Snapchat media app, according to Portage County Municipal Court.
Tyler Coia, 27, from Ravenna, has been accused of soliciting a 14-year-old to engage in sexual conduct through the app, lawsuits show.
Investigators at the Portage County Sheriff’s Office said the case began with a tip, but said they could not disclose more details about the case, citing an ongoing investigation.
However, a major in the department told News 5 that he believes there are other victims and said the case involves at least two youths.
Coia is a physical education teacher at Glenwood Intermediate School in the Plain Local School District.
Plain Local Schools said Coia is currently on leave while the district is conducting an investigation. The district said it has no reason to believe that Glenwood Intermediate students are currently involved.
Coia also has coaching assignments at Berkshire High School in Geauga County and James A. Garfield Middle School in Portage County, according to school board records.
The records show that Coia was hired as an assistant boy soccer coach at Berkshire High School in June 2019 and as a boy track coach at James A. Garfield Middle School in January 2019.
Berkshire Local Schools confirmed that Coia was an assistant boy soccer coach for the district this fall and said a background check by the FBI / BCI showed no incidents had been reported at the time of his appointment. Berkshire Local Schools said its coaching contract will not be renewed and there are no known incidents involving students from the district.
James A. Garfield Local Schools said that Coia was hired as a boys’ high school trainer last school year, but he was “extremely limited in his time there” with students due to the COVID-19 pandemic and that he was in no way for it. district has worked. school year. The district said it continues to work with authorities on the matter.
The sheriff’s department would not comment on whether the youth involved in the case were students Coia taught or mentored.
Coia was charged with importuning, a third-degree felony.
No one opened the door at the Ravenna address listed in court documents Wednesday afternoon as Coia’s home.
The preliminary hearing will take place on December 31 at 8:30 am