Story Created:
Jul 9, 2008 at 9:42 PM CST
Story Updated:
Jul 9, 2008 at 9:58 PM CST
A Sioux Falls man accused of raping a young girl, also used to coach girls on a YMCA basketball team. 46 year old Troy Thomas Fuller is charged with 1st Degree Rape and 3 counts of Possession of Child Pornography. But the fact Fuller used to coach young girls makes those charges even more disturbing for local parents.
Fuller is a well-known coach in the YMCA basketball circle. After his arrest, KSFY got several calls and emails from concerned parents who claimed he'd coached their girls. Sioux Falls Police confirm Troy Fuller was a volunteer girls basketball coach for the YMCA. Last week, Fuller was arrested in Sturgis on charges of rape and possessing child pornography. According to court documents, Fuller's former employer at Hot Stuff Foods found child pornography printed off the computer. Police say they found even more kiddie porn when they searched his work laptop. When officers spoke with Fuller's ex-wife, she told them he was also accused of molesting a neighbor girl back in 1999. After interviewing that girl, police added the 1st Degree Rape charge.
Michelle Elrod is the mother of 2-year-old Katelyn. She's disturbed by the accusations against Fuller. Michelle says, "It's really scary. I work with youth and I think there's too many people taking advantage of the position that they're in." Even though it's now clear that Fuller was around a lot of young girls as a coach, Sioux Falls Police say at this time, they have no new allegations of misconduct against Fuller. Michelle Elrod says she knows she'll have to talk to her little girl about the dangers she faces. She says, "It seems like we say, it's South Dakota, nothing like that is gonna happen around here, but it ends up happening."
Police say officials with the YMCA told them each team has two coaches, to ensure coaches don't have extended on-one-one contact with the players. KSFY did speak with neighbors and parents of girls coached by Fuller. While they didn't want to appear on camera tonight, they say they're shocked by the allegations against the former coach. Fuller remains in the Minnehaha County Jail. He's scheduled to be in court later this month.
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