Megan Crafton, 22, Admits Sexual Relations With Teen Student, Pleads Not Guilty
Megan Crafton, 22-year-old cheerleading coach at Shelbyville High School, pled not guilty to seducing a teenage member of the boys' basketball team. The charges for the Indianapolis woman's arrest were filed several months after the January incident, and she turned herself in June 15.
Megan Crafton— 22 years old, compared to the unnamed boy's 17 years— admitted to performing oral sex in a Shelbyville grocery store parking lot. Though she wasn't his coach, the sexual contact could be considered criminal because of Indiana law: adults cannot have sex with anyone younger than 18 when they have any authority over them at a job.
"We wouldn't be having this conversation if it was her and some other gentleman who doesn't go to the school, or isn't part of the school system, but unfortunately in this case, it was and it made it illegal," Lt. Michael Turner of the Shelbyville Police Department told Fox Sports. "When she signed on as an assistant cheerleading coach, she took a responsibility that she wouldn't have relations at that school."
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Crafton's lawyer, G. Allen Lidy, disagrees.
"She wasn't his coach. She wasn't his teacher. She wasn't his teacher's assistant," the attorney told reporters before his client's Shelby Superior Court hearing Thursday.
Though Crafton herself declined to comment, her defense is clear with the entry of a not-guilty plea. She was the assistant cheerleading coach, but did not coach the basketball team. The 22-year-old clearly admitted to her conduct with the teenager, though. She told police in February that she took the basketball player in her car a month prior, leading to a probable cause affidavit.
Still, felony charges of child seduction were filed, surprising Crafton, and she turned herself in last week. The same day, she was bonded out of jail.
Crafton's jury trial begins Sept. 24. School officials have declined to comment.
