PEORIA, Ariz. — A former Peoria High School teacher and basketball coach is on trial charged with six counts of sexual conduct with a minor. He has pleaded not guilty and says he had sexual contact with them after they turned 18.
William Roberts III's trial comes as the man who took over his coaching job, Patrick "Mr. ORNG" Battillo was indicted on sex crimes of his own.
Former Peoria coach on trial
Roberts' trial began earlier this month. On Monday, he took the stand in his own defense.
The allegations against him date back to 2006 and 2011. One of the alleged victims is a former manager of the varsity basketball team.
Roberts was placed on leave in December of 2019 and he resigned in May of 2020.
A Peoria Unified School District spokesperson said Roberts held various positions.
"He has been a substitute teacher, instructional assistant, coach and teacher. At the time he was hired, he received a background check and was issued an IVP fingerprint clearance card that was regularly renewed during his employment. If there had been additional flags to his fingerprint clearance, we would have received those updates from ADE or DPS," said Danielle Airey, a PUSD spokesperson.
"Roberts was placed on leave in December of 2019 for an internal investigation and at that time, we were informed that he was being investigated by Peoria police. He resigned in May of 2020 for personal reasons."
Roberts' replacement, Mr. ORNG, also facing allegations of sex crimes
That's when Patrick Battillo, also known as Suns super fan "Mr. ORNG" took over.
Battillo was arrested earlier this month after records say multiple students came forward alleging he offered to pay them for inappropriate photos and videos. Battillo is now indicted on four counts of attempt to commit sexual exploitation of a minor.
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