Texas High School Soccer Coach Arrested For Spending Tax Money At Strip Club

After allegedly using his school system credit card to spend hundreds of dollars at a strip club in the Houston region, a high school coach in North Texas has been placed under arrest.

Texas High School Soccer Coach Arrested For Spending Tax Money At Strip Club

On December 15, J.D. Bales, a former assistant soccer coach at Wise County’s Bridgeport High School, was taken into jail by police on a felony allegation of property theft. According to court documents, he posted a $10,000 bail and was freed.

Evidence revealed that Bales had used a credit card issued by the Bridgeport Independent School District at the Men’s Club of Houston throughout the summer, leading to his resignation in September from both his coaching post and his job as a middle school special education teacher, according to the Wise County Messenger.

After he reportedly spent more than $5,000 of the school’s funds at the Men’s Club of Houston while working for the district, J.D. Bales, a former assistant soccer coach at Bridgeport High School, was arrested by police on December 15 on a felony charge of theft of property, according to the Wise County Messenger.

According to court documents, he posted a $10,000 bail and was freed.

Following the district’s discovery that Bales had attended a coaching workshop and spent $5,455.81 of public funds at a strip club, Bales resigned from his position as a middle school special education teacher in September.

“Bales eventually submitted payment for the charge. However, due to the overwhelming evidence in the case (most importantly the case involved taxpayer money), I believed it was prudent to submit the case to the Wise County District Attorney,” Bridgeport Police Chief Steve Stanford wrote in announcing Bales’ arrest.

At the school board meeting on September 11, the district said that it had been looking into “allegations of misconduct regarding the use of district funds,” and his resignation was accepted.

“[Bales] resigned from both his coaching position and his role as a [special education] teacher at Bridgeport Middle School [Sept. 8],” the district said. “Superintendent Dr. Amy Ellis confirmed that the decision to accept the resignation is in the best interest of Bridgeport ISD and the athletic program.”

After two seasons at Midland High School, Bales began working for the school system, which is located northwest of Fort Worth, in 2018. The district indicated that accepting his retirement was “in the best interest of Bridgeport ISD and the athletic program” in a statement given to the news site in September.

According to the Messenger, six of Bales’ soccer players were detained in May on suspicion of hazing other kids, as young as 14, by removing their clothes, photographing them, and forcing them to repeat offensive and obscene language.

 

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