Louisville police say assistant coach at school arrested for sexting 16-year-old on team

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville police said an assistant coach at a school was arrested for sending explicitly sexual text messages to a female student on his team earlier this month.

According to online court documents, 22-year-old Austin Williams was booked into Louisville Metro Corrections on Tuesday afternoon. Investigators with Louisville Metro Police said Williams was an assistant coach at an unknown school Oct. 1 when he sent several text messages to a 16-year-old student on his team, using a the TextNow app.

He allegedly sent a nude image to her, asked if she wound want to engage in sexually explicit behavior with him and asked her to send nude images of herself.

Police said the teen confronted Williams, saying she knew it was him. To prove it, she told him to text her phone again. He texted the word, "YO."

She did not respond, according to police, but later got a text message from the TextNow number stating, "HOW U TELL ME TEXT U BU T NOT TB," according to an arrest warrant.

The teen reported the incident to her head coach. Police said when the head coach tried to contact Williams, he would not respond and never returned to the school.

LMPD spokeswoman Officer Beth Ruoff declined to identify the school involved and released a statement explaining their reasoning:

"Out of an abundance of caution for the juvenile victim's anonymity & safety we are not disclosing that information publicly at this time," Ruoff wrote. "The investigators are honoring the concerns of the victim & family. Should it become necessary in the furtherance of the investigation we will provide this information. We appreciate your understanding."

A spokesperson for Jefferson County Public Schools said Williams is not associated with any school in that district. WDRB is working to determine where the school is located.

Williams is charged with Distributing Obscene Material to Minors and Procuring or Promoting Use of a Minor by Electronic Means. He is currently being held in Louisville Metro Corrections.