Lexington coach suspended after statutory rape charge; alleged victim is student

HENDERSON COUNTY, Tenn. — An assistant football coach at Lexington High School is suspended without pay after being charged with statutory rape.

Adam Yates, 34, of Lexington is charged with two counts of aggravated statutory rape, according to court papers.

“Tuesday morning, we had a guidance counselor at Lexington High School receive some information concerning Coach Yates and after receiving that, it raised some red flags,” Director of Henderson County Schools Steve Wilkinson said.

Yates is accused of having sexual intercourse with a 17-year-old female in his vehicle while parked at Wal-Mart in Lexington, according to an affidavit.

The alleged victim is a student at Lexington High School, according to the affidavit.

“We were notified this week, the investigation started this week, and actually the investigation is still ongoing,” Henderson County Sheriff Brian Duke said.

The incident reportedly happened two weeks before Yates was arrested.

Court papers say Yates admitted to the incident and told investigators the two had been sending each other text messages before it happened.

Wilkinson said the school system spends a lot of time talking with employees about student-teacher relationships.

“We tell teachers all the time, we don’t want you texting, getting involved in Facebook chatter with students, and if that starts to happen, please notify a parent, talk to a counselor at the school,” Wilkinson explained.

Our attempts to reach Yates at his home were unsuccessful.

Wilkinson said the football team will have a meeting to talk about changes to their season.

Yates has been released on a $5,000 bond. He is scheduled to be arraigned at 8 a.m. Tuesday.