Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Ex-youth coach says sex charge is just bad luck

He denies having any relationship with the 14-year-old girl, except on the Internet.

By ABBIE VANSICKLE
Published December 29, 2006

TAMPA - Lee Arthur Chavis, a youth football coach accused of having a sexual relationship with a high school freshman, denies the relationship, saying he's a good guy in a bad situation.

"I'm not a criminal, I'm just a person who is caught up in a mess," he said in an interview Thursday. "It's easy to get in, but it's hard to get out. I know I didn't do anything."

Chavis, 31, an unemployed father of five, was arrested Dec. 21 by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office on a charge of lewd and lascivious molestation. Detectives accused him of a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old St. Petersburg girl.

He was released after posting $25,000 bail, but Chavis says his life has fallen apart.

"This has wrecked my life - over a lie, something that's not the truth," he said.

He met the girl, whose name is withheld because of the nature of the charges, through a chat line for people 21 and older, he said. He cut of all communication after meeting her in person at a St. Petersburg library, he said. The girl's mother said Chavis told the girl he was 16, a claim that Chavis also denies.

"There's no way in the world I could pass for 16," he said.

The girl's mother said Chavis and her daughter had a several-month liaison. Her daughter is now in counseling because of it, her mother said.

In the fall, Chavis coached the Temple Terrace Jaguars, a youth football team of 7- and 8-year-old boys for the Temple Terrace Youth Sports Association.

Coaches must undergo a background check through the county. Chavis, who has several prior arrests but no convictions, was initially denied a coaching position, but he won an appeal.

He has been arrested seven times since 1998 on charges including aggravated battery on a pregnant woman, grand theft and several traffic charges, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

He also has a lengthy list of civil cases in Hillsborough County Domestic Relations Court, including paternity and child support suits. He has five children by five women, who have sued, claiming he owes thousands of dollars in child support.

Chavis chalks it all up to poor choices and lousy luck.

"I just think I had a string of really bad luck, bad karma or something," he said. "I'm pretty sure if I was guilty, I would have been convicted. My record looks like I've done a whole lot, but I'm a victim of bad circumstances."

He says a charge of aggravated battery on a pregnant woman was the result of an ex-girlfriend getting mad because of a new woman in his life. A grand theft arrest was a misunderstanding, he said.

In his jail mug shots, Chavis smiles broadly and looks directly into the camera. It's a deliberate choice. He wants to separate himself from those who look angry and guilty, he said.

"I don't want anybody to see me as a threat," he said. "Plus, you pay 20 bucks to go to jail. You're paying for that picture, might as well take a good one."

Hillsborough sheriff's spokeswoman Vida Morgan confirmed that the jail does charge a $20 fee to cover booking costs.

Chavis, who is married to the mother of his fourth child and lives in Thonotosassa, said he doubts he'll be able to get another youth coaching job.

"Unfortunately, this incident here is going to prevent me from giving back to the community."

Abbie VanSickle can be reached at 813 226-3373 or vansickle@sptimes.com

[Last modified December 29, 2006, 06:13:52]