(PHOTO AND STORY: KHQ.COM)
An East Valley High School softball coach was put on leave after a student accused him of asking about her sexual activity, according to newly released records.
Ray Riggin has been on leave since the investigation began in March. KHQ got the more than 200 pages of records after a public records request.
In those documents, there’s a formal letter from the student to the school, saying that on March 7, Riggin asked her about her breasts. Later on in that conversation, he reportedly asked about her boyfriend and if she had sex with him and how often. She says he told her not to repeat the conversation because if she did, “everything will get blown out of proportion.”
Riggin was asked about this and he said he was concerned and looking out for her. “I talked to her like a father would a daughter," the documents report him saying. The documents show he says he didn’t directly ask her about sex but was asking her questions if her relationship was affecting her emotionally. It says he was trying to “get to the root of what was bothering her.”
This isn’t the first time Riggin’s been accused. Back in 2000, when he was a teacher at West Valley High School, Riggin was accused of making sexual comments toward four students and touching one student. There was a lawsuit, and the hearing officer decided that Riggin should be reinstated because there wasn’t enough corroborating evidence.
This current investigation is still ongoing.