Cheerleading coach facing charges

Published Jun. 21, 2012 1:00 a.m. ET

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An assistant cheerleading coach at an Indianapolis high school was arrested last week after police say she performed sexual acts on a 17-year-old male student, WXIN-TV reported.

Megan Crafton, 22, allegedly performed sex acts on the student inside her vehicle at a supermarket parking lot.

"We wouldn't be having this conversation if it was her and some other gentleman who doesn't go to the school, or isn't part of the school system, but unfortunately in this case, it was and it made it illegal," Michael Turner, a lieutenant at the Shelbyville Police Department, told the station.

Authorities point out that Crafton was in a position of authority as a school employee, the report said.

"When she signed on as an assistant cheerleading coach, she took a responsibility that she wouldn't have relations at that school," Turner said.

The alleged relationship occurred in January. Crafton turned herself in Thursday and pleaded not guilty at a brief court appearance.

Attorney G. Allen Lidy told The Indianapolis Star his client was not in a position of authority over the boy.

"She wasn't his coach," Lidy said. "She wasn't his teacher. She wasn't his teacher's assistant."

A jury trial has been set for Sept. 24.