JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As recently as December 2021, there were serious complaints made against a former coach in St. Johns County schools that led to him being accused of sexual battery on students stemming from incidents that allegedly happened four years ago.
Tylar Reagan was banned from district property in 2018 after accusations he sent inappropriate texts to a student. The district said he was an assistant coach for weight lifting and track and field at Bartram Trail High School as well as a volunteer at Pedro Menendez High School in St. Augustine.
According to a warrant, Reagan had multiple sexual interactions with students on school property before he was fired.
An arrest warrant for Reagan shows he admitted to having sexual relationships with two students from 2017 to 2019. Investigators said the girls were underage and Reagan was an employee of the St. Johns County School District at the time.
“Not something that you want to see, especially in your community,” said Matthew Valdivieso, who lives in the Bartram Trail area.
An email provided by a school spokesperson shows the district took action back in 2018. Then, the principal at Pedro Menendez High School wrote that a teacher reported to him that her daughter, who was a student at the school, said Regan texted her highly inappropriate messages.
The principal said Reagan was then banned from district properties and events and referred the incident to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office. But records show Reagan wasn’t arrested or charged for nearly four years.
A woman who said she went to Bartram Trail High School while Reagan worked there tells News4JAX he targeted multiple girls. She asked us to conceal her identity because of the pending charges against Reagan.
“So, a lot of us had experiences with him and we all kept this quiet,” she said. “Some girls’ experiences with him were a lot different than others, but they all revolved around the same thing of sexual commentary or sexual touching or going even further as all the way. And after high school, we all communicated together and found out this happened to us equally. And we all had to say something. It was not OK.”
Email records from the Florida High School Sports Association and the school district show a former student came forward in December 2021, alleging Reagan began sending her flirtatious text messages when she was 15 and he was 22. She said they began having sexual relations when she turned 16.
On Thursday, the district superintendent sent a statement to News4JAX calling the charges against Reagan despicable.
“We fully support the work of the Sheriff’s Office, and this behavior would not be tolerated in our schools,” Superintendent Tim Forson said.