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Las Vegas high school volleyball coach accused of having sex with student

Updated March 30, 2017 - 8:11 pm

A Silverado High School volleyball coach was arrested in October after authorities accused him of sexual misconduct with a 16-year-old student, the Las Vegas Review-Journal has learned.

Brian Theophil, 23, is being held at the Clark County Detention Center on charges of first-degree kidnapping and engaging in a sex act with a pupil.

The Clark County School District did not announce Theophil’s arrest when it occurred, but the Review-Journal obtained his arrest report on Thursday, after the district provided a list of nine employees arrested during the 2016-2017 school year on charges related to inappropriate behavior with students.

According to the report, school police went to Silverado in September after receiving a report of a “possible inappropriate relationship” between Theophil, assistant junior varsity volleyball coach, and a 16-year-old girl.

Police interviewed Theophil, who told them he and the girl became friends the previous year. According to the report, the relationship progressed, and the two had sex earlier in September at the home of Theophil’s parents.

The girl gave a similar description of the relationship during her interview with police. She said she and Theophil met the previous year at Silverado.

When investigators pressed the girl for information about the relationship, she “began to cry and had difficulty speaking,” according to the arrest report. She then confirmed they had sex.

According to the report, Eric Drum, head coach of the Silverado girls varsity volleyball team, informed the school’s principal after learning about the relationship.

“Brian is a volunteer acting as the junior varsity coach until his paperwork cleared with CCSD,” Drum wrote in a statement on Sept. 28. “He began helping this year only in August.”

According to the statement, Theophil did not supervise the girl with whom he had the relationship. Other information collected during the investigation included a “congratulations letter,” dated Sept. 13, indicating that Theophil’s application had been approved.

Another Silverado coach was arrested 10 days after Theophil. Jordan Turner, 21, a volunteer football coach, was arrested Oct. 14 on sexual misconduct charges.

Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or at 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.

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