Volunteer coach accused of sexually assaulting student to appear in court

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - A man accused of inappropriately touching a 16-year-old student at a DeKalb County school has been arrested and will appear before a judge Thursday afternoon. 

Officials at McNair High School dismissed Ronald Wright, a volunteer coach, on Monday after the alleged incident took place last Friday afternoon.

The girl's mother said the incident happened after school hours when many of the school's sports teams were practicing.

“He walked her from the weight room to the laundry room and this incident happened in the laundry room, and also the girls’ locker room where the girls’ showers are because he followed her into the showers,” said the mother.

The mother said when her daughter told her Friday night, she took her to the doctor and called police.

DeKalb County Schools issued the following statement Wednesday:

“We take very seriously all allegations of improper or inappropriate behavior towards students.  The health and safety of our students is our most important priority.  Following our investigation, we obtained an arrest warrant for Ronald Wright and have turned the investigation over to the DeKalb District Attorney for prosecution.  Mr. Wright was dismissed from the school on Monday, August 22. He is not an employee of the DeKalb County School District.  He has served for several years as a volunteer coach in the District.”

The mom told FOX 5 earlier this week she was angry the investigation was taking so long. She said police told her they want to be very thorough.

“I think my daughter's life, and that he's interrupted it, is more important than his career. He made a decision when he decided to touch a 16-year old child,” said the mom.

Wright's first appearance hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Thursday.