Fired Swim Coach Charged for Allegedly Sexting Student

ALLEN PARK, MI – A Downriver swim coach who was fired from his coaching job after allegations surfaced that he sent sexually explicit messages to a 15-year-old swimmer through the social media app Snapchat for nearly a year has been criminally charged, authorities said.

The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office said Friday that former Allen Park High School swim coach Tyler Card, 26, of Southgate, has been charged with a pair of felonies — accosting a child for immoral purposes and using the internet to communicate with another to commit a crime.

Police allege that Card and the student exchanged messages for more than a year, from February 2015 to March 2016. He was fired by the Allen Park school, according to the statement released by the prosecutor’s office.

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Card turned himself in to the Allen Park Police Department on April 14, and was arraigned in 24th District Court in Allen Park, where he was given a $50,000 personal bond.

Card allegedly asked the student to send nude photographs, Allen Park superintendent John Sturock told The Detroit News.

School authorities became aware in early March “that there was some messaging going on” after students brought it to the attention of an administrator, Sturock said. Card was immediately placed on administrative leave and ordered not to have contact with students during the investigation, Sturock said.

The swim coach, who had been with the school district for a couple of years, was fired Monday.