FLORIDA
Fox 13
[with video]
By: Tina Jensen, FOX 13 News
POSTED:JAN 05 2016
TAMPA (FOX 13) – A choir director who was fired from a prep school in Rhode Island for sexual misconduct with students, went on to teach at Tampa Prep for more than a decade.
Attorneys for victims of students at St. George’s School say Franklin Coleman is accused of fondling students, “grooming” them by providing alcohol and companionship before abusing them. He was fired from the school in 1988 and began working at Tampa Prep in 1997.
Kevin Plummer, head of Tampa Prep, told FOX 13 News in an email that the school first learned about the allegations against its former choir director on Tuesday. Attorneys representing alleged victims of Coleman and other staff at St. George’s School say Tampa Prep was notified by at least one victim in 2004.
Coleman continued to work at the school until 2008, when he was given an award for outstanding faculty from Tampa Prep alumni, according to the school’s website. Plummer said Coleman left the school “of his own volition.”
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.