Former Spanish Fork coach won't face criminal charges

A high school teacher and basketball coach accused of stalking and harassing a 16-year-old student athlete will not face criminal charges but has lost his job as a result of the allegations.

Spanish Fork City Attorney S. Junior Baker said Tuesday that evidence gathered during the investigation was not strong enough to guarantee a conviction of the now-former Spanish Fork High School teacher without placing the student under duress during prosecution stages."This decision is made out of deference to the youthful victims and a desire not to cause them additional trauma which would be induced in meeting the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt," Baker said in a statement.

"As in all cases, the feelings of the victims were considered in making this decision," he said, "but were not determinative."

Police launched a probe into Phil Chapman's reported relationship with the student on Sept. 29 after the girl's parents filed a complaint with police. The girl was a member of the school's basketball team.

The parents charged the teacher and coach "tried to have a close relationship" with their daughter, repeatedly phoning, paging and following her as she drove to work and home.

Chapman remained in his teaching post until Monday when district officials determined he had violated policies governing proper student-teacher relationships. He had worked at Spanish Fork High since 1994.

Almon Mosher, Nebo's human resource director, said Chapman was terminated for violating the district's sexual harassment policy.

School officials suspended the math and physics teacher for two weeks in September after they were made aware of the parents' concerns. Chapman, a popular teacher whose sudden termination from Bear River High School in 1994 spurred a student protest, returned to school about three weeks ago.

Contacted at his Salem home Wednesday, Chapman said he was trying to counsel a student who was suffering some emotional upheaval and, as a result, broke a regulation stipulating the scope of his duties. He does not believe he violated the sexual harassment policy.

"I've been saying all along I'm innocent," he told the Deseret News. "It's been tough to wait" to find out if Baker would decide to charge him in the allegations.

Chapman was expected to schedule a due-process hearing Wednesday with Nebo officials.

"My main concern is getting my story in front of the school board so they just don't hear all the negative that's been said," he said.

Spanish Fork High School has seen its share of controversy in the past year. Chapman is the second teacher in a year to be questioned about reported conduct with students.