High school coach accused of having sex with underage girl
ALBANY, Ore. – A high school coach faces charges for having sex with an underage girl at Jefferson High School in Jefferson, Ore., a Marion County Sheriff’s Office spokesman said.
Scott Leonard Zeigler was arrested at West Albany High School on Thursday afternoon. He is currently an educational assistant and coaches several girls’ sports teams.
Zeigler, 41, worked at Jefferson High School from 2008 until 2010 where he was the head coach of the girls’ basketball team.
Investigators said he started having sex with the victim in 2009 when she was 15 years old, which continued over a three year period. The girl told detectives she had Zeigler had sexual encounters at Jefferson High School and at other locations in Albany and Linn County, according to Marion County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Don Thompson.
Zeigler's actions seemed to come as a surprise to those he worked with. Albany School District Superintendent Maria Delapoer had no indications of foul play before his arrest.
"He was very involved, very outgoing, seemed very respected by his colleagues," Delapoer said.
Investigators are using recovered text messages are being used as evidence of the sexual encounters.
Jim Haggart of the Albany Public School District said they have no information about any inappropriate contact with students in that school district.
After appearing in court Friday Zeigler is being held at the Marion County Jail on charges of rape with bail set at $70,000. The next scheduled cour appearance is on April 20.
As of yet, no other students have come forward from West Albany or Jefferson High Schools. Both schools are encouraging students to speak with school councilors to report any other instances of possible inappropriate contact with Zeigler.
Samantha Seiner, a student who played on Zeigler's team at West Albany, did not expect this from her former coach.
"He always conducted himself in a professional manner, at least around me and our basketball teams," Seiner said.
