Hyattsville, MD (WUSA9) — Just five years out of high school himself, 23-year-old Charles Wolford is accused of having sex with a 16-year-old on the girls track team on Friday April 20th.
“I'm coming to my community because I expect this to be a concern," said Prince George’s County Police Chief Hank Stawinski in a news conference on Wednesday.
The Chief said a parent learned of the relationship and called the school. Within 24 hours, the track coach was in cuffs.
While police believe this is an isolated case, the chief knows parents will be worried. Not only because of past abuse at Judge Sylvania Woods Elementary School, but because Wolford was also a teacher’s assistant at Gladys N. Spellman Elementary School in Cheverly.
No one answered the door at Wolford's home where neighbors said he's lived with family for the more than 10 years.
The 23-year-old coach, a former football and track star at Fairmont Heights, now behind bars because of a parent who was paying attention.
"Be nosy with what your children are doing their smart phones,” said Chief Stawinksi. “Be nosy on social media."
Wolford has been an employee of Prince George’s County Schools for four and a half years.
The chief said he was vetted and has no prior criminal record.
Wolford is charged with three counts related to the sexual abuse of a minor in his custody (as the track coach).
