Cops: Coach attended party with students, failed to report rape allegation

Lamar Cofield (Credit: Dalton Daily Citizen)

Lamar Cofield (Credit: Dalton Daily Citizen)

A North Georgia high school coach failed to report an alleged rape at a party he and the underage female victim attended, according to reports.

Lamar Cofield, 34, of Dalton, faces a charge of failure to report suspected child abuse after a high school student was allegedly raped at a party July 1, the Dalton Daily Citizen reported. The family reported the rape Sept. 29.

Cofield resigned as a teacher and coach at Northwest Whitfield High School last week, according to the paper. School district officials told the Daily Citizen that as an employee of the school system, Cofield is a “mandatory reporter,” but he failed to tell authorities or school officials about the crime.

Cofield and the victim were at the party — attended by five students — inside a male student’s home when she told him of the sexual assault, the paper reported.

Police said Ashley Turner, a relative of the male student living at the home, was also at the party and served the underage guests alcohol and drank with them.

Turner, 33, who was also told of the alleged rape, was charged with furnishing alcohol to a person under the age of 21, the Daily Citizen reported.

Read more of the story here. 

In other news: