KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A former Park Hill football coach, Joshua Hood, was found guilty of second-degree statutory rape in Clay County court on Thursday.
Hood pleaded not guilty in June 2021 to the charges stemming from his involvement with a minor on Jan. 1, 2010. He was charged in May 2021, and had worked at Park Hill since 2013.
Hood was a Staley High School teacher and coach at the time of the crime, and the victim was a student there, according to a spokesperson with Clay County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
The minor was described in court documents as being under 14 years-old at the time of the crime.
“What the defendant did to this victim, he had done before,” Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said in a statement. “Because of the bravery of this victim, he will never again be in a position to prey on an innocent child in our schools.”
Hood was also charged in December 2020 on eight counts of sexual relations with a student when he taught and coached at Holden High School in Jackson County. The crimes took place from November 2003 to November 2004.
Hood reached a plea deal for those crimes in June 2021.
The jury recommended Hood be sentenced to five years in the Missouri Department of Corrections on Thursday. Hood will be officially sentenced on Feb. 21, 2024.
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