A Texas soccer coach/assistant football coach was arrested after being accused of spending thousands of dollars of district money at a Houston strip club.
Former middle school soccer coach J.D. Bales faces a felony charge of theft of property after he allegedly used his school district credit card and spent more than $5,000 at the Men’s Club of Houston while on a coaching clinic trip, the Wise County Messenger reported.
Despite Bales’ initial denial to the school and bank that the $5,455.81 charge on the district credit card was fraudulent, an investigation into the matter reportedly proved otherwise.
Former Texas high school soccer coach arrested after allegedly spending $5,000 of school money at a Houston strip club https://t.co/MqVgDGJjBz pic.twitter.com/XsDKBjvo4t
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Bales was arrested on December 15 and later released after posting a $10,000 bond. He resigned as a middle school special education teacher in September.
Following his arrest, Bridgeport Police Chief Steve Stanford told the outlet, “During the investigation, which included information that Bales had formerly claimed the charge was fraudulent (with both the school and the financial institution), investigators discovered evidence indicating a criminal offense occurred.”
“Bales eventually submitted payment for the charge,” Stanford added. “However, due to the overwhelming evidence in the case (most importantly the case involved taxpayer money), I believed it was prudent to submit the case to the Wise County District Attorney.”
Bridgeport Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Amy Ellis confirmed that Bales’ resignation followed an investigation into “allegations of misconduct regarding the use of district funds.”
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“[Bales] resigned from both his coaching position and his role as a [special education] teacher at Bridgeport Middle School [Sept. 8],” Ellis added, noting the board accepted Bales’ resignation as it was “in the best interest of Bridgeport ISD and the athletic program.”
In 2018, Bales was hired by the district and was in charge of the middle school’s soccer team, as well as working as an assistant football coach for the district’s high school, the New York Post noted.
In May, six of the players under Bales’ leadership were arrested on a misdemeanor charge of personal hazing. The alleged incidents took place between October of 2022 and March of 2023, the Wise County Messenger noted.
Stanford told the outlet that an investigation “revealed that over the 2022-23 soccer season, several upperclassmen (players) were involved in the hazing initiation of underclassmen, described as ‘de-pantsing.'”