A Gwinnett County soccer coach who allegedly was caught nude in the bedroom of one of his teenage players was charged with robbery after snatching a cell phone from the girl’s father, who tried to take pictures of the incident for evidence, according to police.
The Buford father wanted the coach, Patrick Ahern of Dacula, charged with rape in the Sept. 27 incident, but police determined that the teenager had not been raped and even if sex had occurred she was 16, the age of consent in Georgia.
Ahern instead was charged with “robbery by sudden snatching” on Oct. 25 after several weeks of investigation.
Ahern turned himself in to police on Oct. 26, according to police spokesman Cpl. Jake Smith, and he was released on bond later in the day. Efforts were made Friday to reach Ahern for comment.
Ahern, 27, most recently coached an Atlanta Fire United girls’ soccer team. According to the Georgia State Cup soccer website, Ahern also has coached a Dacula Soccer Club girls’ team. To protect the identity of the teenager, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is not identifying her or her father.
According to police, the father caught Ahern with his daughter after walking into her bedroom. The father told police Ahern and his daughter were “engaged in physical contact. The suspect was completely nude,” the report said.
The report said the father grabbed his daughter’s cell phone and tried to take a photograph of the incident but couldn’t because Ahern snatched the phone from his hand and took it with him when he fled. The father said the soccer coach then threw the phone into a wooded area. The phone, however, was later recovered.
The father wanted Ahern charged with rape, but Smith, the police spokesman, said the detective in the case determined that it wasn’t a sexual assault case after several weeks of investigation.
“Ultimately, it was determined that he had not committed any wrongdoing in the eyes of the law,” Smith said. “There was no actual sexual intercourse and whatever did occur was consensual – 16 being the age of consent for sexual activity in Georgia.”
Smith added that whatever people think of the relationship socially, “He’s 27. She’s 16. Legally, he hadn’t done anything wrong.”
Police, however, said there was enough probable cause to pursue a charge of robbery by sudden snatching, which is equivalent to a purse-snatching charge. Ahern was arrested Oct. 26 and released later that night after posting $2,400 bond.
About the Author
