[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
The head football coach at Florida’s Bartow High School has been arrested and accused of engaging in inappropriate behavior with teenage girls at the school.
According to arrest affidavits viewed by multiple media outlets, 31-year-old Tyler James Eden (pictured above, in his mugshot) was arrested late last week and charged with lewd offense against a student by an authority figure, lewd and lascivious touching of a minor, and voyeurism.
Per Law & Crime and others, Eden was allegedly involved in several different unsettling incidents with teenage girls at the high school.
In one instance, an 18-year-old student told police that she had been talking with Eden one day when he inquired about her post-graduation plans. She told him that her dream was to become an OB-GYN, to which the head football coach allegedly responded with a lewd and sexual comment. Per his arrest report, he then allegedly offered that the girl could do “community service” to help get into a better college for her future. Thankfully, she declined.
The community service offer allegedly came up in a second situation involving Eden, too. Per cops, a separate 18-year-old student actually met with Eden about doing community service, but their conversation quickly veered away from that. According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Eden reportedly informed the girl that there were no security cameras where they were meeting, and it was easy for “certain things” to occur in that area.
Then, when the girl evidently turned him down, Eden — who has a wife and at least one child, per his now-locked X (Twitter) account — told her that she needed to leave because his mistress was en route. He also reportedly told the girl that he was popular at the school because he was the head football coach, and that a female teacher had expressed a desire to have sex with him in the locker room. Creepy…
In an alleged third incident, Eden reportedly brought a 16-year-old girl down to the football locker room to do chores as part of her community service. Once there, per the arrest affidavit, she began to organize football helmets. Deputies say the coach used that same line with this girl, too, about another teacher wanting to have sex with him in the locker room. The teenager was uncomfortable, but Eden allegedly persisted by claiming that he wanted to be with the teacher despite being married.
Then, the next day, the girl returned to the locker room to help break down boxes and clean up the area. But during that time, her hoodie broke! Here’s what happened next, according to the arrest affidavit:
“As the victim was helping Eden break down boxes, her hoodie jacket got caught on one of the boxes and the zipper broke open. The hoodie served as her top, so she asked Mr. Eden for a t-shirt that she could put on, as she wished to cover herself up. Eden responded by reaching out and unzipping her jacket all the way, at which point she told him that she was uncomfortable — the only clothing she was wearing underneath the hoodie was a bra.”
WTF…
It gets so much worse from there, too. Per the arrest document, Eden then allegedly scoped the girl out when it was time for her to change out of her hoodie and into a t-shirt:
“Eden repeatedly tried to fix the jacket, but eventually handed her a T-shirt. The victim walked into a separate locker room area to change. When she turned around, he was standing right behind her, watching her. He then complimented her bra, and told her repeatedly there were no cameras there.”
It was that student who really got the ball rolling on the allegations against Eden. She went home that day, reported what had happened to her parents, and her parents immediately called the cops. Then, when deputies showed up at the school, Eden allegedly refused to talk with them unless he had a lawyer present.
Here’s where things get even more chilling, too: one of the victims may have seen the aftermath of one of the other victims’ awful experiences. Per the arrest affidavit, one victim reported nearly walking in on something that she later felt wasn’t right:
“[A victim] stated that as she was entering the locker room, another female student was leaving. [The victim] didn’t know who the student was, but that she had a weird look on her face and thought as if something was wrong.”
Holy s**t.
Per WFTS News, even though the investigation is still ongoing, Eden’s employment at the school has already been terminated. Eden was officially arrested last Wednesday, and appeared in court on the charges on Thursday. According to TooFab, he is still in Polk County Jail awaiting his next court appearance that will come in May.
Related: ‘Cuban Brad Pitt’ William Levy ARRESTED — See His Mugshot!
Polk County Public Schools Superintendent Fred Heid issued a statement to the media about the situation following Eden’s arrest:
“It’s unconscionable that an educator and coach would engage in this kind of behavior with students. This individual has shown that he cannot be trusted, and deserves to face justice for his actions. We commend the Polk County Sheriff’s Office for their thorough investigation, and for taking action to protect students.”
And during a press conference on the matter, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd was equally forthright:
“Hitting on children is not acceptable. Inappropriately touching children is even worse. He violated all the ethics and morals of our community and the law. We’re supposed to trust teachers.”
Here is more from Sheriff Judd’s press conference about the allegations against Eden:
If you have sincere cause to suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence and would like to learn more about resources, consider checking out https://www.rainn.org/resources.
[Image via Polk County Sheriff’s Office]
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