The high school track coach and physical education teacher who was arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing a student for months has pleaded not guilty to 21 felony counts, prosecutors announced.
Brad Matthew Rowell, a 41-year-old Sonoma resident, entered his plea Tuesday in Napa County Superior Court. Judge Francisca P. Tisher granted him $250,000 bail over the objections of prosecutors, according to Carlos Villatoro, spokesperson for District Attorney Allison Haley.
Rowell remained booked in the Napa County jail as of 7 p.m. Tuesday, according to booking records.
The district attorney’s office is charging Rowell, who has coached track and field and taught physical education at American Canyon High School for 10 years, with multiple felony counts of lewd acts with a minor as well as separate counts of unlawful intercourse with a minor.
The charges follow his arrest last week after a female student told a school resource officer that she and Rowell had intercourse and oral sex from July 2023 until earlier this month, starting when she was 15 years old.
Rowell also faces one count of possessing sexually explicit materials depicting a minor – an apparent reference to nude pictures of the teenager prosecutors say he uploaded to the smartphone app Discord.
American Canyon High School will have a public meeting Wednesday to discuss the recent arrest of a longtime track coach accused of a bevy of sexual abuse allegations against a female student.
Rowell was ordered to surrender his passport if he posts bail and is required to be under GPS monitoring, stay away from his accuser and submit to electronic searches.
Individual counts carry potential prison terms between one and four years, but Rowell also faces special allegations of exploiting a vulnerable person and abusing a position of trust as a school employee.
Napa County sheriff’s deputies originally arrested Rowell April 9, the day after the department said the student brought her accusations to the school resource officer. After posting $100,000 bail to leave jail, Rowell was arrested again on Friday.
American Canyon High will host a public meeting at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday to discuss Rowell’s arrest. School officials said officials with the Napa Valley Unified School District planned to attend, including Superintendent Rosanna Mucetti. The forum will be held in the school theater at 3000 Newell Drive.
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