A student has broken her silence after the disappearance of a high school football coach who is accused of child sex abuse offences.
Travis Turner disappeared into the woods in Virginia armed with a gun after the allegations against him came to light, and he hasn’t been seen for two months since then.
Travis Turner is accused of some serious crimes
The alleged crimes committed by Turner shocked the local community in Wise, Virginia, and led to outcry amongst the residents, which boiled over at a school board meeting.
The former football coach of Union High School is accused of possession of child sex abuse materials among 10 child sex crimes, and is now a fugitive.
US Marshals have been brought in to search for him, but so far, no significant progress has been made.
At the school meeting, around 40 people were present with some sharing their views bluntly.
One resident, named Steven Murray, even read out a list of former Wise County school staffers who have been charged with sexual offences since 2020.
That list includes a former band director at one high school, as well as two other school board employees and Turner, who has yet to be convicted and was placed on paid leave pending charges.
Murray told the meeting: “This is just the cases that have been reported and charged.”
He then read a statement allegedly from a victim, which read: “I am a victim of exploitation buy a teacher in this county,
“Thankfully, under a different administrator my situation was handled promptly and professionally by immediately notifying the appropriate authorities.
“I did not feel like a victim,
“I felt like I was the problem.
“I felt like I had embarrassed the school, damaged the reputation of the coaching staff and disrupted something I was supposed to protect instead of myself.”
The statement continued: “From where I’m standing, it seems the people you are trying to protect are not the kids but it’s the reputations of the administrators, and the school board has been complicit in the sexual abuse.”
Another resident then claimed that the student at the center of the claims against Turner was taken to be questioned by the school principal without her parents present.
They asked: “Police or Social Services were not notified as they should have by law,
“Travis Turner is either a fugitive or deceased. How long is he going to remain on the payroll?”
Travis Turner’s whereabouts are unknown
Turner was last seen in November as Virginia State Police headed to his house to question him.
10 charges were filed after his disappearance, five counts of soliciting a minor using a computer, as well as five counts of child sex abuse materials possession.
Police have used drones as well as search and rescue teams to attempt to locate Turner, but to no avail.
He was last seen walking into a wooded area with a firearm, an attorney representing his family said in a statement.
That statement read: “The last known contact the family had with Travis occurred on or about Thursday, Nov. 20, after he left his residence to walk in the woods with a firearm.”
His wife contacted law enforcement after he disappeared, but was told to wait 24 hours before filing a missing persons report.
Five days later, the charges were brought.
Turner has been Union High’s football coach since 2011, with his team undefeated at the time of his disappearance.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact the Virginia State Police at (276) 228-3131.