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Update: Former GW Coach Facing Sex Charges
31-year-old Mac Leighton is being investigated for soliciting sexual text messages from a 17 and 15 year-old-girl. We're told he allegedly took indecent liberties with the 17-year-old at his house.
It's a report that has some parents around here at his former school pretty upset.
Police say "Mac" Leighton doesn't even have a traffic ticket on record in Danville, but he did work at GW and with the sexual charges he's facing, parents are thinking twice.
Parent of a GW student Patrick Garland said, "It just bothers me that people take advantage of their authority, especially when it comes to a child.” He continued, “I talk to em about all of it. From touching you to someone saying something inappropriate to you. I tell them to come to me immediately."
The parents we spoke with say they're not too worried about their kids at GW, even though Leighton coached football here for two years.
Parent Jennifer Hampton said, "She's never complained about any harassing or anyone making passes at her as far as a teacher is concerned."
But the idea of a teacher, or anyone for that matter, using text messages to solicit sexual acts? That's newer territory and it has them shaken up a bit. "I'm trying to learn to text myself on my cell phone." A lot of them are doing that now. They're texting each other explicit sexual messages," Garland said.
"They have their own little peer problems that they go through and then to have to deal with an adult tempting them to do things that they may should know that that's not good," Hampton said.
One thing they say they do know- "That's totally unacceptable and inappropriate," Garland said.
Leighton faces five felony charges for the incidents. He also worked in Roanoke City (web) and Halifax County Schools. Authorities at those schools tell us they have no information on record to indicate he committed similar acts while on staff.
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