Prep wrestling coach accused of sexual assault
Durham, 36, allegedly attacked 2 female students at South Carolina school
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ROCK HILL, S.C. - A high school wrestling coach was charged with sexually assaulting two students on campus, authorities said Thursday.
Ira Bernard Durham, 36, was accused of attacking the girls separately at Rock Hill High School within the past two months, sheriff’s Capt. Jerry Hoffman said. Durham was being held without bail Thursday.
The investigation began after one of the girls reported this week that she had been assaulted Monday, Hoffman said. That investigation led to the second allegation, he said. He said Durham knew both students but declined to be more specific.
He was arrested Wednesday on charges of criminal sexual conduct and aggravated assault, according to the sheriff’s office.
Durham’s phone number was not listed, and it was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney. A message left at the public defender’s office was not immediately returned. Thursday was a state holiday.
Durham, a Rock Hill High graduate who was hired for the coaching job last year, also monitored students who were serving in-school suspensions, district spokeswoman Elaine Baker said. He was suspended without pay, she said.
Durham wrestled two seasons at Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, N.C., then transferred to Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Tenn. He won the NAIA national championship at 158 pounds in 1993, his junior year.
Rock Hill is about 20 miles south of Charlotte.
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