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PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — In less than a week, a former basketball coach from Peoria High School found himself back in court, facing allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct with teenage girls.
However, the court session did not proceed to outline the state’s claims against Daniel C. Ruffin, accused of engaging in sexual acts with a minor. This delay came after prosecutors, with no opposition from Ruffin’s lawyer, John Lonergan, requested to postpone the hearing until Friday at 1 p.m. to allow more time for gathering evidence.
The ex-coach is confronting serious charges, including aggravated criminal sexual abuse, grooming, and indecent solicitation of a minor, which collectively carry the potential for a 15-year prison sentence. Allegations suggest that some of these acts occurred in his office with a teenage girl.
Last week, Ruffin faced additional charges of solicitation and grooming, linked to a series of text messages with a different teenage girl. These communications reportedly indicate that he was attempting to persuade the girl to engage in sexual relations with him.
Ruffin was charged last week with the solicitation and grooming charges related to a string of text conversations he was in with another teenage girl. Those messages seem to show that he was trying to convince the girl to have sex with him.
The second girl’s accusations, which led to the new charges, came forward after he was arrested and charged last week with allegedly sending the inappropriate text messages.
Peoria Public Schools spokeswoman Marjorie Kauth said last week he was placed on leave. Ruffin was dismissed at Monday night’s school board meeting.
Ruffin was in his sixth year of coaching the Lions’ varsity basketball team. He won two state titles while a student at Peoria High and was also a standout guard at Bradley University.
This story will be updated