High School Coach Sentenced for Stalking and Threatening Underaged Girl

FT. WORTH, TX – A former high school track coach has been sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison for stalking a student and possessing child pornography, announced Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Prerak Shah.

According to the US Northen District Attorney's Office, on Feb. 5, Rickey Badley, a 45-year-old former Timber Creek High School teacher and coach, was indicted in September 2020, making him the first defendant prosecuted for stalking in the Northern District of Texas. In October 2020, he pleaded guilty to one count of stalking and one count of possession of child pornography. He was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor to 131 months in federal prison. 

According to court documents, Mr. Badley admitted that he stalked a 16-year-old student, calling her his “new favorite” and “little girl” and circulating false and vulgar messages about her to her family and friends.

He admitted that from December 2019 to April 2020, he anonymously mailed the victim, her parents, and her classmates numerous letters detailing fabricated sexual encounters between the victim and her teenage boyfriend. He also attempted to anonymously mail out 13 copies of a graphic haiku, which was intercepted by law enforcement before it reached addressees.

The defendant further admitted he sent the victim’s parents an anonymous letter demanding she produce two TikTock videos with sexual undertones. The letter threatened to release false and disparaging information about the victim if the videos were not posted by a certain time.

Mr. Badley was asked by the school to submit his resignation in January 2020, when administrators became aware of his conduct. That same month, the victim’s mother observed Mr. Badley driving by the family home. Six months later, in June 2020, the victim noticed Bradley pulling into a parking spot at her private athletic practice before speeding away.

The ensuing investigation into Mr. Badley uncovered pornographic images of a toddler stored on his laptop. In court documents, Mr. Badley admitted he knew the images depicted actual minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy Larson prosecuted the case.