Nashville High School Football Coach Solicited Teen For Sex: MNPD

NASHVILLE, TN -- A football coach at a Nashville charter high school solicited a 17-year-old girl for sex, according to Metro Police.

RePublic High School fired Leon W. Garlington, 25, after his arrest Wednesday. The girl told police that Saturday, Garlington sent her a direct message on Instagram asking when her birthday was and then "expressed disappointment that it was almost a year away," according to an arrest report.

Garlington reportedly asked the teen if she'd ever been with an adult before and asked if she'd like to do anything with him "like sex lol." He then sent the teen his phone number and continued the conversation via text, offering to pay her for gas if she came to his apartment.

According to police, Garlington texted the teen again Sunday, saying "My bad about all this I shouldn't have ever messaged you. Let's just act like none of this was ever talked about. See you at school tomorrow!"

Initially, investigators say Garlington claimed the messages were sent by his brother before admitting he sent the messages himself with the intent of wooing the girl to his apartment and having sex with her, though he did say that had the girl come to his home, he would have had sex with her.

Garlington said "he knew it was wrong, and he was weak," according to an affidavit.

Garlington played high school football at Brentwood Academy and later at Tennessee State. He served as an assistant at BA before moving to RePublic in 2017. He is charged with solicitation of a minor - statutory rape.

Abigail Rockey, director of network operations at RePublic Schools, issued this statement:

Immediately upon being informed that a faculty member sent inappropriate electronic messages to an underage student, we took strong and swift action. We addressed the incident with the student and their family. We reported the incident to Child Protective Services and the Metro Nashville Police Department. We confronted the faculty member and immediately terminated him for cause. We will continue to cooperate fully with local law enforcement on any further investigation. This alleged behavior is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Nothing is more important than the safety and security of our students and faculty members. We will not tolerate anyone being subjected to sexual misconduct, abuse, or harassment. We will always act urgently on any concern.

Photo via Metro Nashville Police