Tucker football coach charged in sex case

Last October, J.R. Tucker High School's new football coach, Mac Leighton, celebrated the school's first victory in 15 years over rival Godwin High School.

The win "was one of the most profound, eye-opening experiences I have had in my entire life," said the Danville native who became a star football player at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland before moving on to high school coaching.

Now, Henrico County police say William Macgregor "Mac" Leighton, 31, faces decades in prison if convicted of five felony charges stemming from a relationship with an underage female student at Tucker that authorities say began that same October.

"We believe the relationship began in October; it came to our attention earlier this year," Henrico police Lt. Doug Perry said.

Leighton surrendered to Henrico police yesterday morning and remained in jail last night without bond. He is expected to make an initial appearance today in Henrico Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court.

Police said two of the charges allege that Leighton sent text messages from a cell phone soliciting pornographic material from the student. Three additional felony counts allege Leighton took indecent liberties with the same minor while in a custodial role.

Michele Chiocca, Leighton's lawyer, said yesterday that Leighton remains an employee of the Henrico school system, but a school spokesman declined comment on the teacher-coach's specific status because it is a personnel matter.

"We became aware from police a few weeks ago about the nature of the allegations and have taken appropriate steps," spokesman Mychael Dickerson said. He said all county teachers and school employees are given thorough background checks before they are hired.

Dickerson said Leighton has not been at school since shortly after the school system learned of the allegations.

Leighton taught social studies and history at Tucker, according to the school's Web site.

The charges come as Henrico has drawn attention over an outbreak of so-called "sexting" episodes in which students, some in middle school, have sent sexually explicit images of themselves to friends by cell phone.

Prosecutors in many jurisdictions across the country have been reluctant to prosecute the cases because they do not clearly violate pornography statutes and because most of the images are taken and sent voluntarily to other minors.

In Virginia, some legislators are considering possible language that would address sexting in criminal laws.

Leighton arrived at Tucker last summer as a dynamic coach who promised to infuse the foundering football program with new energy and determination.

He seemed a perfect role model: Born with a birth defect that left him without a right hand, Leighton became an award-winning center at Airport High School in Columbia, S.C., and won the Yellow Jacket Award at Randolph-Macon.

The 275-pound offensive lineman wasn't shy about his disability and attributed his determination to the demands his handless arm placed on him.

"Every aspect of my life, I have to work harder," he said in an interview in 2000. Recalling his high school days, he said "a lot of people referred to me as the one-handed center from Airport. They didn't know my name."

Before going to Tucker, which won no games in 2007, Leighton had coached in Halifax County, at Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, and George Washington High School in Danville. Tucker's record was 3-7 under Leighton last season.

"We thought he was headed to graduate school when he left," said George Washington's head football coach, Dan Newell. "When he turned up at Tucker, he started keeping up with us and even let us practice at his facility when we traveled up to Stafford County.

"As a football coach, he set a real example. I don't know anything about what went on off the field."

Contact Bill McKelway at (804) 649-6601 or .

Staff writer Arthur Utley contributed to this report.