John Glenn High School's head football coach John Barron was charged on Tuesday with a misdemeanor count of battery for hitting a female student on her butt on at least two occasions.
Barron, 56, has been suspended while the district addresses the situation.
"The safety, security, and well-being of our students and staff is our most important responsibility," the John Glenn school district wrote in a letter to families. "Any allegation that potentially impacts that is immediately investigated and actions following the Indiana Code and the John Glenn School Board Policy are vigorously executed."
According to a probable cause affidavit filed Tuesday, a female student came forward to Walkerton police in January about a series of interactions she had with Barron in the previous semester.
The documents say the girl and her friend were asked by Barron to set up a classroom in November for a football banquet. While the pair were setting up, Barron allegedly "slapped her butt quickly and didn't say anything after."
Investigators with the St. Joseph County Special Victims Unit apparently also looked at security footage from Barron's classroom from a separate incident on Nov. 20, 2024 where Barron can be seen in and out of his doorway with the girl sitting in his office. Court documents say the girl then begins walking out of the classroom through the doorway, which is apparently the camera's blindspot. When she reappears on the camera in the hallway, the girl is rubbing her backside as if she were hit there, documents say.
It's unclear if the girl alleged more instances of battery to investigators, though Barron is only charged with one count of misdemeanor battery. If convicted of that criminal charge, Barron would be subject to a maximum of 6 months in jail, though without a criminal history, it's unlikely he would receive jail time.
When asked about his conduct around the female student, Barron allegedly told police he's a "hands on" guy when it comes to students in his class.
Barron is John Glenn's head football coach and was hired in early 2022 after spending 17 years before then at Plymouth High School.
John Glenn School Corporation's superintendent Christopher Winchell said Barron has been placed on administrative leave.
