CAMBRIA CO., Pa. — Two local high school wrestling coaches have been arrested and charged, accused of requesting to view pornographic images of female students that members of the wrestling team had on their cell phones.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro has identified the two employees as Michael Fox and Bradley Roussell. Fox, head coach and a teacher, and Roussell, assistant coach of the Portage Area High School wrestling team, asked their athletes to bring in and share photos of their female classmates.
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“What these coaches did was not only an abuse of power, but a violation of trust to the faculty and students at Portage High School,” said Shapiro. “Forcing students to share pornographic photos with their adult coaches is disturbing, illegal and abusive to the young adults they were supposed to be mentors to. Instead of coaching these boys how to be responsible young men, they used them. I will always stand up to protect children across our Commonwealth.”
According to the attorney general’s office, investigators became aware of the issue due to a complaint filed through the Safe2Say Something program. The program allows children and adults to submit anonymous tips to the attorney general’s office if they believe there is a threat to themselves or others before it is too late.
Channel 11 has learned the images were shared on several occasions, specifically at the West Mifflin Wrestling Tournament in December 2019.
Shapiro told Channel 11 that the pictures were shared during what was described as a mandatory team bonding meeting in one of the coaches’ hotel rooms.
According to the press release from the state attorney general, “The defendants would start pressuring student athletes to bring photos of female classmates several days or weeks in advance, with Fox and Rousell asking their athletes if they ‘got pics’ and that they should ‘better be getting them ready’ prior to the tournament. The sharing of these images at this tournament was described as a tradition by both current and former varsity wrestlers.”
Students who were questioned by investigators said that Fox had directed them to get images of a specific female student, for Fox’s viewing, multiple times. Channel 11 reached out to the school district’s superintendent concerning the allegations and, according to him, they are assisting with the investigation.
“School officials have been cooperating to the best of our abilities in the investigation of these allegations, as the safety of our students and staff are of utmost importance,” said Eric Zelanko, superintendent of the Portage Area School District.
Asked if the district had made any changes to protect students following the attorney general’s announcement, Zelanko responded, “I am not at liberty to share actions or discussions at this time other than to say steps have been taken to protect everyone in our schools.”
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