Ellis County Investigators Looking For More Alleged Victims Of Former Police Chief
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ELLIS COUNTY (CBS11) - Ellis County's top prosecutor says investigators are still searching for other potential underage victims of former Maypearl police chief Kevin Coffey.
The sex-related charges against the 49-year-old came after authorities received a tip about a 14 year old girl.
District Attorney Patrick Wilson says, "We learned a name of a teenager and we did reach out to that family and that's how it was brought to our attention."
Coffey remains in jail on $350,000 bond on four felony sex charges involving the girl.
Wilson says her family was very upset to hear the allegations the two exposed themselves during a video chat.
Court documents show she told investigators "...Chief Coffey would talk to her sexually and she would get naked for him..."
The arrest affidavit goes on to say when the girl and chief met in person "...He would grab her hair and kiss her, he would put his hands in the front and back of her pants..."
Coffey declined all requests for interviews.
The DA says, "The bogeyman in our society is the sex offender and people view the bogeyman as the creepy guy in the raincoat down at the park. The reality is the overwhelming majority of victims of child sexual abuse are victimized by people they know and trust."
Wilson says they received tips from other cities where Coffey previously worked as a police officer, including Italy, Rio Vista, Grandview, and the Johnson County Sheriffs Department.
When asked if the tips they received are from the time he served as a police officer in other departments and involve similar allegationsCoffey is facing now, Wilson answered, "I can't respond to that at this time."
CBS11 called the Italy, Rio Vista, Grandview police departments and the Johnson County Sheriff's Department about Coffey's tenure there, but as of Thursday evening, we hadn't heard back.
Wilson also urges parents to closely watch what their children do on the web and social media. "This is just a perfect example of frankly the damage that social media has wrought on our society. Parents just have to be diligent and monitor their children's online activities."
Now that Coffey is no longer the police chief, the town of Maypearl is holding a special meeting on Saturday to discuss the matter.
The town's mayor didn't return my phone call and email.
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