Pontotoc County Sheriff: Latta coach arrested for soliciting minor likely messaged multiple students
LATTA, Oklahoma (KXII) - A Latta teacher and coach has been arrested after being accused of sending inappropriate photos and messages to a student.
Pontotoc County Sheriff John Christian said Jake Collins, 26, was arrested on Tuesday after a weeklong investigation into reports of inappropriate behavior. He was released from jail on Thursday after posting the $50,000 bond.
“A young lady that attends school at Latta school had received through social media some inappropriate messages,” Christian said.
Court documents say the girl was 16 when it started last year. The messages, sent through Snapchat and possibly other social media, turned into nude photos.
One of those photos showed Collins in the showers at the Latta basketball gym.
In an interview for the investigation, the girl said she wasn’t interested in Collins, so she usually didn’t reply to him and said no when he asked her for nudes.
The affidavit also stated she did not come forward sooner because her brother was on a team that Collins coached.
Collins has resigned from his positions as P.E. teacher for Latta elementary students and as an assistant high school baseball and basketball coach.
Christian said the school has been helpful in the investigation.
“[They’ve been] providing us with the tools that we need and the info that we need from students and the school system,” Christian said. “I know it’s a difficult situation they’re dealing with.”
Since Collins’s arrest, Christian said other minors have come forward, some with information on the incident and others with allegations of their own.
“We have had some other calls come in,” Christian said. “We’re conducting an investigation to see exactly what those allegations are.”
He said they believe those incidents are more recent.
The Pontotoc County Sheriff’s Office wants anyone with any information about this case or anything similar to call them at (580) 332-4169
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