KARNS CITY, Pa. — A volunteer softball coach in Butler County has been charged by state police with sending nude photos to a 17-year-old high school student.
According to state police, the girl met the suspect, Nathan Ridley, while she was playing softball for Karns City High School in early 2018.
Police filed the charges against the 39-year-old softball coach Thursday.
He just started coaching for the district, but now he's out of a job and facing a felony.
The Chicora man is charged with sending obscene sexual material to a minor, which is a felony under Pennsylvania law.
Police said they they began investigating a report of child abuse involving the high school coach and student in October.
The girl told police she began getting weird messages from Ridley after she spent the night at his home last summer so she could get a ride to a game the next day.
The girl said Ridley, “sent a photo of two girls with only underwear on" and "another picture of two naked girls making out, about to have sex.”
When he was interviewed by investigators, Ridley did not deny sending the nude photos to the student, saying he was, “just being a pervert,” police said.
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District officials would not say how long Ridley had been a coach there or if any other students had come forward. The superintendent sent this statement to Channel 11:
"At Karns City Area School District our volunteers must meet all of the requirements in our volunteer policy before they are able to volunteer in our schools. If at anytime it is brought to our attention that a volunteer no longer meets the requirements, his or her volunteer privileges will be immediately revoked."
Channel 11 spoke with Ridley by phone, who said he did not send nude photos to the student and doesn’t remember sending lewd texts or telling police he was being a pervert.
Ridley said he only learned of the charges after seeing a story on Channel 11 and he is quite upset.
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