The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office has charged a former Farmington High School boys basketball coach in the alleged sexual assaults of two teenage boys.
Jerremy Thompkins, 43, of Detroit, was arraigned Thursday in Detroit’s 36th District Court on one count each of second-degree criminal sexual conduct and fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct. Prosecutors have alleged Thompkins, a former basketball coach at Farmington High School, sexually assaulted a 15-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy at his home in Detroit.
According to a news release from the prosecutor’s office, the alleged incidents took place from August to October of this year.
“We want to be able to trust the people that we allow to coach, teach, and spend time with our children” Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a news release. “Sometimes, they are predators that betray and abuse that trust in unimaginable ways.”
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According to Worthy, Thompkins reportedly violated his position of authority with the incidents and “harmed those he was supposed to guide and protect.”
Thompkins was given a $250,000 personal bond with a GPS tether and house arrest. Conditions of his bond include not attending any school-related events, not going to Farmington High School and to have no contact with the two teen complainants in the case or any other minors.
His attorney, Larry Polk, declined to comment when reached.
During the court hearing, in arguing for a personal bond, Polk said his client was “not a danger to the community.” He described Thompkins as a lifelong resident of metro Detroit with “strong family support.”
Thompkins is due back in court next month.
In a statement Oct. 17, Farmington Public Schools said: “Last week, Farmington High School learned of an allegation of potential improper conduct between a non-(Farmington Public Schools) employee basketball coach and some players. We immediately terminated the coach and revoked his credentials to access our facilities.”
Three other coaches — including Derrick McDowell, the high school’s varsity head basketball coach — were fired for not reporting the alleged misconduct.
“During our administrative team’s internal investigation, we learned that three of the other coaches in our program (varsity and freshmen) had some knowledge of these interactions between the JV coach and student-athletes, and chose not to report them. As a result, they have been terminated as well,” according to the statement, which stressed that the other coaches are not accused of improper conduct with players.
Free Press staff writers Gina Kaufman, Mick McCabe and Matthew Dolan contributed to this report.