Sex abuse case against former Roosevelt coach dismissed

The sexual abuse case against a former Roosevelt High School teacher and coach has been dismissed.

Gerald "Tig" Johnson, 47, who coached the girls' basketball team and taught special education at the Des Moines high school, was accused of touching and kissing a 16-year-old former student. He faced charges of sexual exploitation by a school employee and assault with intent to commit sexual abuse stemming from the Dec. 3 incident that reportedly happened in his classroom.

But the case changed when District Court Judge Michael Huppert ruled on Friday that witnesses would not be allowed to testify about a key surveillance video from the high school that reportedly showed the teen entering and leaving Johnson's classroom. Prosecutors believed that they could not prove Johnson's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt following Huppert's ruling, Assistant Polk County Attorney Michael Salvner said.

The video, which became corrupted after police requested it be downloaded from the school's camera system, had become a major issue in the case leading up to trial. Defense attorney Alfredo Parrish first filed a motion to dismiss the charges citing the missing video in February, arguing that it would be impossible for Johnson to have a fair trial.

In his ruling, Judge Huppert wrote that there was no indication the video was lost due to any "bad act" by police, but that not having it would be unfair to Johnson.

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Johnson's wife, son and daughter gathered around him at Parrish's office Tuesday evening as he spoke to reporters for the first time since being arrested Dec. 8 for the sex abuse charges.

"From the beginning, I have stated and maintained my innocence throughout and turned down multiple pleas from the state over the past few days, including a simple misdemeanor as late as yesterday," Johnson told reporters. "I could not plead to something when all I was doing was my job."

Johnson and his wife, Shelly Johnson, who teaches at Perkins Elementary School in Des Moines, said the case has been difficult for their whole family.

Johnson missed his daughter's last high school basketball games and her senior graduation night, as she is graduating from high school. The family also was not able to celebrate Christmas together, and his 15-year-old son quit basketball this season, Johnson said.

After Johnson's arrest, a no-contact order prohibited him from interacting with anyone younger than 18, including his own children, until the order was modified about a month into the case to allow him to see his children, according to court documents.

"This is a great day today," Johnson said, referring to his case being dismissed, "but there's things that I've lost and our family has lost that you can't get back in time, and that's what hurts most."

Polk County Attorney General John Sarcone said charges could be re-filed against Johnson if any new evidence appears, including the lost video.

"(It could) if somehow that gets recovered, but I don’t think it’s going to happen," Sarcone said.

The victim and her family were notified about the dismissal before the decision was filed, Sarcone said.

"I think they understood what the circumstances were," Sarcone said. "Those aren’t easy decisions."

Jury selection had been scheduled to begin Monday morning, but was postponed until 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the request of attorneys, Huppert said Monday. The attorneys were taking the extra time to deal with pre-trial legal issues, he said.

A criminal complaint filed against the coach claimed Johnson pulled a 16-year-old girl out of her class, telling the teacher that he would return her shortly. Johnson took the teen to his own classroom for more than an hour, where he kissed her and touched her over her clothing, according to the complaint.

The teen was a student of Johnson's during the 2014-15 school year, according to the complaint. Johnson pleaded not guilty to both charges.

Johnson is a well-known coach in the Des Moines area, leading the Roosevelt team to a state championship win in 2006 and a runner-up finish in 2007.

The school district placed Johnson on administrative leave immediately after his arrest, pending the outcome of the trial and pending the proceedings of an administrative complaint the district filed against him with the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners, said Amanda Lewis, a communications officer for Des Moines Public Schools.

Lewis confirmed Tuesday that Johnson is still on leave, pending the results of the ethics complaint with the board of educational examiners. Kim Cunningham, the secretary for the board, said in an email Tuesday that the board could not confirm whether a complaint had been filed against Johnson.

Additionally, the school district has not offered Johnson a contract for the 2016-17 school year, Lewis said.

Roosevelt has hired a new girls' basketball coach, said Todd Gordon, activities administrator at Roosevelt, in an email last week. The new coach is Morgan Schoneberg, a teacher at Roosevelt, he said.

Johnson told reporters Tuesday that he and his family still need to discuss whether he will return to coaching and teaching, but he said he remains passionate about the jobs and cares about his students.

Johnson said he has not yet considered whether he will take any further legal action, including against his accuser.

"Our first priority today and moving forward is just kind of getting back to a little bit of normalcy," he said.

Register reporter John Naughton contributed to this article.