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Tolland teacher accused of inappropriate relationship with student

Police said they investigated incidents that dated back to the 2014-5 school year.

TOLLAND, Conn. — An English teacher at Tolland High School has been arrested after being accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a student during the 2014-5 school year. 

Kris Coffey, 43, of Coventry, was charged with two counts of second-degree sexual assault, and one count of fourth-degree sexual assault on Friday. He was held on $150,000 bond and was scheduled to appear in court on Monday. 

"I didn’t believe it, I thought it was like a joke and I had to like check, like wait Mr. Coffey? And next thing you know, turned out to be real," said Ethan Poverman, a graduate of Tolland High School.

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Connecticut State Police said the investigation stemmed from an anonymous tip to the Department of Children and Family back in early February. The tipster said that a Tolland High School teacher had an inappropriate relationship with a high school student sometime back in the 2014-2015 school year. 

"One of my friends had him. We would like hangout in the classroom, he was pretty cool he always been nice," Poverman said.

Students spending time in Coffey’s classroom is one of the many details in the arrest warrant.

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Investigators identified and located the person who provided the tip and the victim. The victim told them she would eat lunch in Coffey’s classroom with other students every day and that one day after the other students had left he told her he had feelings for her.

The victim told investigators that during the summer their relationship escalated to dating and the two would meet up at UConn on a weekly basis.

According to the warrant, the victim said the relationship continued into the following school year when Coffey exposed himself to her in a classroom and that they would kiss.

"It’s awful really it’s sad," Poverman said.

 Police said that during the investigation, Coffey was interviewed and provided a confession to Troopers.

The arrest warrant states that Coffey told investigators his relationship with the victim began over email. He admitted to sexual encounters and that he knew the victim was 17 at the time.

"We know that the impact of sexual assault really can last a lifetime," said Bridget Koestner, policy manager for the CT Alliance to End Sexual Violence.

She said it is never too late to speak up if you have concerns that someone may be experiencing harm and there are signs to look out for.

"We often see them targeting a specific individual or type of individual. And often they’ll target people who have a vulnerability," she said. "Often we’ll see them erode boundaries so that’s another red flag to look out for," Koestner said.

More information and resources can be found here.

Both the victim and the suspect told police of a series of contacts between them. The victim had told a friend about the relationship following graduation. The friend confronted Coffey about the relationship and then contacted DCF. 

On Monday, Coffey was taken into custody at his home without incident.

In a letter to the school community Tolland’s superintendent Walter Willett said  Coffey was placed on administrative leave in February and he resigned shortly after. The superintendent also stressed counselors are available for students for further support during this time.

Doug Stewart is the Senior Digital Content Producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dstewart@fox61.com.

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