Wife of ex-coach pleads guilty to statutory rape charges

The wife of a former high school assistant football coach in Tennessee pleaded guilty to having sex with a 16-year-old player on her husband’s team.

The Knoxville News-Sentinel reports Kelsey McCarter, 27, pleaded guilty to seven counts, including six charges of statutory rape. 

She agreed to a three-year prison term but could be eligible for release after serving about a third of her sentence. Before the deal, she faced 38 years behind bars.

The mother of a Knoxville high school sophomore says the encounters occurred in 2015 while the teen had lived with McCarter and her husband, Justin McCarter. 

The husband had invited the student to live at their home after the teen faced behavioral problems such as skipping class, according to the report.

The victim and his older brother lived with the McCarters for about a year and both played on the football team.  

Justin McCarter invited the student to stay with his family after he was reportedly facing behavioral problems. His wife pleaded guilty to six charges of statutory rape

 South Doyle students told Local 8 News that they saw sexual pictures of the wife and a student who was living with McCarter and her husband at the time.

The sex allegations led to an investigation into the school’s principal, Tim Berry and football coach Clark Duncan, who were suspended in February.

Both men were under investigation for failure to immediately report the allegations of child sexual abuse to the state Department of Children’s Services or law enforcement, according to the News Sentinel.

But neither Berry, Duncan or Justin McCarter were charged in the case.