The men's basketball coach at Lawrence High School has been charged with sexually assaulting a female high school student back in 2022.
Police in Manchester, New Hampshire, said Friday that 34-year-old Jesus Moore, who lives in Manchester, has been charged with aggravated felonious sexual assault after a woman came forward accusing him of assaulting her when she was a high school student.
Manchester police said they were notified by Lawrence police about two weeks ago about an alleged sexual assault that had taken place in Manchester. Lawrence police had been approached about the sexual assault by SafeSport, an independent nonprofit that focuses on abuse prevention, education and accountability in the sports community.
Through their investigation, Manchester police said they learned that Moore, a basketball coach at Lawrence High School, had arranged for a female student to get a ride to Manchester, given her alcohol and sexually assaulted her at a Manchester motel.
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The assault happened in 2022 and the victim was a minor at the time, police said.
According to The Eagle-Tribune newspaper, Moore was named basketball coach at Lawrence High School in 2018. He had previously worked as a physical education teacher at Lawrence's Oliver Middle School. He was a basketball and a football star at Lawrence High School, graduating from the school in 2007.
In a statement Friday, the Lawrence Public Schools said only that they are aware of the charges filed against a staff member and that that staff member is on administrative leave. They said they will have "no additional comment on ongoing police and personnel matters."
Moore turned himself in to police on Thursday and his bail was set at $1,000 cash. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Manchester District Court on March 27. It wasn't immediately clear if he had an attorney who could speak to the charge.
A Lawrence High School student and her mother were shocked to learn of the arrest Friday. The mother, who didn't want to share her or her daughter's full names, said she was worried because she trusts the school to take care of her daughter, Estela.
"It's sad because it can happen to me or one of my friends," Estela said.
A spokeswoman for SafeSport, which focuses on preventing abuse in sports, discussed how hard it can be for victims to come forward and what such abuse means for children.
"Sports are supposed to be fun, they’re an opportunity for young athletes to grow and thrive, but they can’t be fun unless sports are," Hilary Nemchik said.
