Dwight Bowling, a longtime high school football coach in Mississippi and Alabama, pleaded guilty to 14 counts of luring teenage boys into having sex.
Bowling entered the plea to the state charges in Monroe County Circuit Court in Aberdeen, MS. The plea covered charges filed against him in Monroe and Itawamba counties.
The charges included fondling, sexual battery, child exploitation and bribery of a witness.
Circuit Judge Jim Roberts read each count to Bowling, who answered “yes sir” when asked if he was guilty. Bowling made no other comment. Roberts said he was deferring sentencing. He said Bowling would remain in federal custody.
Prosecutors said at least three different minors were victims. The judge allowed prosecutors to detail the activities Bowling was accused of and allowed them to play audio of a phone conversation between Bowling and a minor.
Bowling was arrested September 18, 2010, as he returned to his Mississippi home after coaching Sulligent (AL) High to victory. Authorities said a 13-year-old boy with Bowling at the time of his arrest accused him of improper touching.
Bowling coached 28 years at Smithville High in Monroe County, MS, before retiring and taking a similar job at Sulligent High. Bowling pleaded guilty in April to three federal charges related to the investigation. A federal sentencing date is pending.
Court records show Bowling pleaded guilty to two federal counts of taking a minor across state lines, from Mississippi to Alabama, for sex. He pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction for trying to get someone else to lie to investigators.
