JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A former NBA player and boys basketball coach at Englewood High School in Jacksonville has been arrested on Thursday, Oct. 26 for sex crimes and drug possession, according to jail records and school officials.
Paul McPherson, 45, was reassigned to "district duties with no student contact" on Sept. 5 after he was accused of these crimes, according to Tracy Pierce, the chief of marketing and public relations at Duval County Public Schools.
In McPherson's arrest report, he is accused of meeting an unidentified victim at the Krystal's located at 5707 University Blvd. West on separate occasions but, the interaction he had with the victim is unknown as most of the report has been redacted by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. During his first court appearance on Friday in Duval County, the judge stated that part of what McPherson is accused of is when "a 16-year-old victim was enticed to perform sexual acts while providing her with drugs."
On Sept. 6, search warrants were obtained on McPherson's cellphones, vehicle, DNA, photographs of his genitals and "penile swabs," according to the arrest report. On the same date, JSO says the warrants were served.
He was arrested Thursday in Clay County on four counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor, unlawful use of a two-way communication device (usually a computer or cell phone), three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and one count of possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana.
Pierce says that "under the presumption of innocence," McPherson remains a district employee with non-pay status.
His bail is set at $442,527.
