Before abuse allegations, ex-Palo Verde coach was a fixture at school

After retiring from the Air Force in 1997, he obtained a license to teach social studies in Nevada, and he spent the next 15 years working at Becker Middle School and Palo Verde High School.

He coached boys cross country and girls softball and apparently continued coaching as a volunteer at Palo Verde until recently. When police arrested him Nov. 19 on allegations he had sexually abused a child, he was taken into custody at the school.

Atwell, 72, pleaded not guilty to initial charges. Jess Marchese, his attorney, said Atwell denies the allegations and has called some of them questionable. His bail is $300,000, according to court documents. He remains in custody and has declined an interview request.

Other allegations

Since the arrest, prosecutors have accused Atwell of sexually abusinganother child. That child’s mother told police Atwell also sexually abused her when she was a teenager, according to a police report.

A second woman has alleged that she had a sexual relationship with Atwell at his home and school when he was her teacher and she was between 16 and 19 years old, according to a police report. The woman also said he molested her 4-year-old son during a recent visit, according to police.

Atwell was indicted by a Clark County grand jury Thursday and only faces charges in connection with two alleged victims who are still children. Police said in a report that they could not charge Atwell for the allegations that he had a sexual relationship with a student because a law banning such relationships was not yet active. Prosecutors said they dropped charges involving the other woman due to what they described as a statute of limitations issue, not the merits of the allegations.

For some, the allegations have come as a shock.

“He seemed to always want the best for the girls and the teammates,” said Abbie Millman, who was on the softball team at Palo Verde as a freshman and is now a UNLV student. “He really tried to take care of us.”

Others had a less favorable view of Atwell.

A sibling of one of the alleged victims told police Atwell recently resigned from a maintenance position at Cornerstone Church because of allegations he asked an underage girl about her sex life and taped women’s underwear to an office door, according to Atwell’s arrest report.

Atwell ‘taught values’

Atwell enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1971, according to a 2010 Review-Journal article about him. He flew as a crew chief during the Vietnam War, then transferred to the Air Force and served until 1997, when he retired as a lieutenant colonel.

Atwell was also chief of protocol at Nellis Air Force Base and a combat commander in Operation Desert Storm, the article said. He received a Bronze Star for actions in that conflict.

“My military background has taught me many things, primarily to have integrity above all else and to appreciate and contribute to the community,” Atwell said in 2010. “These are the things I try and teach my Summerlin students every day.”

He was punctual, Millman said, and tried to make activities a team effort. When students took down the flag at softball practice, she recalled that he made sure no one let it touch the ground.

“It was obvious that he had been in the military,” Millman said.

Jose Solorio, who coached cross country with Atwell, said, “He thought that kids should focus on their academics, that kids should respect their parents. He was a person that taught values as part of his coaching.”

The Clark County School District did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

Cornerstone declined an interview request. Dave Stretz, an associate pastor, provided a statement saying Atwell was a long-time volunteer who had undergone a criminal background check.

“While we are not aware of any harm that came to any child by Mr. Atwell as part of Cornerstone school or church activities, we know that any child harmed in these ways, no matter where or how the harm occurred, is tragic and horrific,” the statement said in part. “We have been and will continue to pray for those who have been impacted by these events.”

Some of the alleged victims had ties to Cornerstone, according to police.

Previous lawsuit

The current case is not the first time Atwell has faced allegations that he acted improperly with a child.

In 2012, court records indicate CCSD paid a $2,000 settlement after an incident in which a student named Nicolas Cobb accused Atwell of grabbing his stomach and leaving a bruise during a volunteering event the year before.

“I don’t believe Mr. Atwell intends to hurt the students but may have gotten a bit carried away,” Cobb wrote at the time in a statement provided by his mother, Holly Lemperle.

Cobb was on the Palo Verde cross country team and said Atwell claimed he had acted in self defense.

Lemperle said that in addition to the financial settlement, Atwell was removed as the cross country coach at her insistence.

Marchese said he doubted that the case led to Atwell no longer coaching cross country. The settlement amount was essentially “go away” money, and it’s telling that the incident didn’t lead to a criminal case, he said.

Solorio, Atwell’s former coaching colleague, recalled Atwell touching Cobb’s chest but said it didn’t hurt him. Solorio said he was “devastated” when Atwell was asked not to coach anymore.

Lemperle also told a school official Atwell was living with female students, she said, and that official promised to speak to Atwell about it. “That’s really as far as I could take it,” she said.

Atwell’s arrest report said police interviewed a brother and sister who previously lived with Atwell. The report does not say how old the male sibling was, but the female was about 18 or 19, police said. She told police Atwell made sexual jokes around her and slapped her buttocks, according to the report.

Marchese said to his knowledge, Atwell never had a sexual relationship with a student. Asked why Atwell sometimes had people living with him, Marchese said, “He’s a Christian and he believes in helping people. It wasn’t always females.”

“A lot of times, he had an extra room in his home and he would allow people to live there free of charge in order to help people,” Marchese added.

Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.