A high school football coach in California was arrested Friday after students discovered a cellphone secretly recording them while they were changing inside a campus locker room, police said.
The phone belonged to Jeffrey Pribble, a 48-year-old teacher at Tracy High School, located east of San Francisco. According to the school's website and social media accounts, Pribble is the varsity football head coach and works in the school's physical education program. He has held the coaching position for five years and has 22 years of experience as an educator with the district, according to his Facebook page.
The discovery was made Thursday when a student and several classmates found the phone recording inside the locker room. The students stopped the recording, deleted the video, and turned the device over to a teacher. By Thursday evening, a concerned parent contacted Tracy police, prompting an investigation.
Officers determined the phone belonged to Pribble, who was arrested Friday. The Tracy Unified School District placed Pribble on leave pending the outcome of separate criminal and district investigations.
Tracy High Principal Jon Waggle acknowledged the arrest of an employee in an email to parents. The school did not identify the teacher or the specific allegations but noted that the district was cooperating with police. "We understand that this news may raise serious concerns in the District community. The District too is concerned about the well-being of its students and staff and is committed to holding its employees to the highest professional and ethical standards," Waggle wrote. "Tracy High School and all our Tracy Unified schools are proud of being safe schools. The cooperation between students, parents and staff members keeps our schools safe and is important and appreciated. Thank you for your continued partnership and support."
Tracy Police Chief Sekou Millington stated that the safety and privacy of the city's students are top priorities. "Our children deserve to feel safe at school and in every space where they should be able to learn, grow, and simply be kids," Millington said. "Protecting the safety, privacy, and well-being of our students is a responsibility we take seriously. We are grateful to the students who brought this incident to the attention of adults and to the officers and detectives who acted quickly to investigate."