Former assistant Honeoye Falls-Lima cross country and track coach Jeffrey Utegg was arrested by New York State Police on Monday, December 5.
Utegg, 32, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and arraigned in Mendon Town Court by Town Justice William Fletcher. Utegg was released on his own recognizance and is scheduled to reappear in court on January 3, 2017.
Investigator Salamone with the New York State Police in Rochester stated on Tuesday, December 6 in a phone interview that no other charges are pending. The investigation by state police began following a report of inappropriate social media messages allegedly sent by Utegg, who lives in Pittsford. He is alleged to have used Instagram Messenger to ask a 16-year-old female student to send him nude photographs, Salamone said. After district shared its internal findings, Utegg was interviewed by the New York State Police. Utegg was fired from his assistant cross country coaching position on October 28. A former paraprofessional at HF-L High School, he resigned from the paraprofessional position as of July 1, 2016 according to minutes from the district’s Board of Education meeting on June 28, 2016.
“The school district has fully cooperated with the investigation and supported it,” Salamone said.
The district put out the following statement on its website on December 5:
The District will continue to fully cooperate with any law enforcement inquiries and investigations. Honeoye-Falls Central School District is committed to providing a safe and supportive learning environment for all students and takes any and all complaints seriously.
The district expects all staff to maintain the highest professional moral and ethical standards in their conduct with students, including volunteers and coaches and maintains clear policies and procedures regarding this. All of the district’s policies are accessible through the website.
Any person with knowledge or suspicion of an improper relationship is asked to immediately report the conduct to the school district administration.
Specific details or allegations cannot be discussed due to the privacy and legal protections of our employees and our students.
“I would like to thank all of those students, staff, and community members who have rallied to support all of our students throughout this difficult time,” said Gene Mancuso, Superintendent of Schools.
