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Officials with Sevier County Juvenile Court said a transfer hearing will be held March 15 to determine if one of the individuals charged in connection with the rape of an Ooltewah High School 15-year-old will be transferred to adult court.Three former Ooltewah High School basketball players, two 16-year-olds and a 17-year-old are charged with aggravated rape and aggravated assault of a 15-year-old teammate on Dec. 22.According to sources involved in the investigation, the 17-year-old has turned 18 since the alleged crime was committed.Court documents say the then 17-year-old penetrated the victim with a pool cue, while the the 16-year-olds held him down.
Law enforcement officials in Collegedale and Hamilton County are investigating an Ooltewah High School football coach and substitute teacher for admitted inappropriate conduct with students.
Avery Rollins, 23, coached Ooltewah's freshman basketball team this fall and has been substitute teaching for Andre "Tank" Montgomery, who is the basketball coach and PE teacher suspended without pay and facing criminal charges of failing to report child abuse and suspected child sexual abuse in connection with the alleged rape of an Ooltewah High freshman by his teammates Dec. 22.
According to a report filed Monday with the Collegedale Police Department, Rollins is being investigated for allegations soliciting a minor and for confessing to sending a 17-year-old student naked pictures of himself.
Detectives questioned the student and Rollins separately. Both parties said they had planned to meet for sex three separate times, and that is when they began sharing naked pictures in September of 2015, according to authorities.
The report states the school's administration and the resource officer helped police with the investigation, and the Tennessee Department of Children's Services was contacted.
The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office also is investigating Rollins for possible inappropriate conduct with at least one other student.
Matt Lea, the sheriff's office spokesman, said the investigation is ongoing and he could not release any additional information.
Rollins "has been inactivated and is no longer subbing," Hamilton County Schools Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Stacy Stewart said.
On Tuesday, Montgomery, Ooltewah's assistant basketball coach Karl Williams and the school's athletic director, Allard "Jesse" Nayadley, each facing charges of failing to report child abuse or suspected child sexual abuse, arrived at the Hamilton County Jail to be booked, according to Edna Camp, a Hamilton County Criminal Court clerk.
An official at the jail made a mistake Tuesday and sent the men home, saying they did not need to go through the process of being booked, fingerprinted and having their mugshots taken.
Camp said that was not correct and the three men will have to return to the jail before March 17 to be processed and booked. Charges against the men remain before a Hamilton County grand jury.
Contact staff writer Kendi Anderson at Kendi.anderson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592. Follow on Twitter @kendi_and.