The tight-knit Virginia high school where head football coach Travis Turner worked was rocked by a similar sex scandal involving another coach two years ago.
Timothy Lee Meador, a teacher and coach at Union High School, pleaded guilty in 2023 to child solicitation and indecent liberties charges, ABC 7 reported.
Meador, then 28, was barred from the school, which teaches about 600 kids in Big Stone Gap, and spent just a year and three months in prison.
It is unclear what sport Meador coached, but he worked at Union High at the same time that Turner was head football coach there.
And the circumstances surrounding the latest allegations against a school staffer are shockingly similar.
Turner, 46, is wanted for five counts of soliciting a minor using a computer and with five counts of child pornography, police Virginia State Police announced Tuesday.
Just days ago, a member of the Union High staff was also placed on leave — but the school has not confirmed whether it is was Turner.
But while Meador was caught, Turner remains in the wind.
He vanished Thursday as police were headed to his home in nearby Appalachia to question him over the allegations, and he hasn’t been seen since.
A search has been underway across the mountainous countryside since, but so far no leads have turned up as to his whereabouts.
Turner was not initially charged with any crimes and police insisted they were only trying to question him — but on Tuesday they declared he was a fugitive and would be charged if caught.
His family has denied the charges against him.
“None of that is true. He’s a good dad and a good husband,” his wife Leslie told the Daily Mail after police confirmed the charges.
“We want him home. That’s it,” she added. “We are all just hanging in there until we get news.”
