DALTON, Ga. -- A high school coach in northwest Georgia has been arrested for allegedly failing to report the sexual assault of a child.
NBC affiliate WRCB reports that, on July 1, 34-year-old Lamar Cofield stopped by a party for over an hour but failed to do anything after a student there reported a rape to him and another adult. The Times Free Press of Chattanooga reported that the girl's family came forward on Sept. 29 leading to an investigation by the Whitfield County Sheriff's Office.
Cofield, a coach at Northwest High School in Dalton, Georgia, was charged with failure to report suspected child abuse. The Times Free Press reports that it is mandatory for a school system employee to report this type of crime but that Cofield didn't report the assault or drinking to authorities or the school system.
Another adult and a relative of one of the students at the party, 33-year-old Ashley Turner, was charged with furnishing alcohol to persons under the age of 21.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is also assisting in the investigation.
