National Guard Recruiter and Coach Accused of Sex with Students

A South Carolina National Guardsman who worked as a recruiter at Ware Shoals High School is accused of having sex with students in a particularly sordid scandal that also involved a female coach at the school. Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Fletcher, 29, worked at the school with Jill Moore, 28, a married mother of two who was the cheerleading coach. The two began having an affair, and had sex at a Guard Armory in Greenwood, according to reports released by the Greenwood County sheriff’s office.

Last year, according to the reports, Moore told two cheerleaders that she wanted to take them to visit a prospective college. But rather than taking them to a college, they went to a motel where she met Fletcher. Moore gave the cheerleaders some vodka and ushered them into a room with Sgt. Jeremy Pileggi, 21, while she and Fletcher went into another room.

One of the cheerleaders told authorities that she watched as Fletcher and Moore had sex, and Pileggi acknowledged that he had sex with one of the cheerleaders.

Both Fletcher and Moore are accused of having sex with students, and Moore is also accused of having sex with a male student at a different time. Because all of the students involved in the case were age 16 or older, the adults cannot be charged with any crime because the teenagers were the age of consent under Georgia law. However, Moore is charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and supplying cigarettes and alcohol to students. She has resigned from the school.

The two soldiers have been suspended as part of the investigation being done by the National Guard. If the military confirms the allegations of police investigators, the soldiers could be disciplined according to the State Military Code, which could punish them by confinement, a monetary fine, or a bad conduct discharge. "This type of misconduct is intolerable and we are currently reviewing recruiting policies," said Maj. Gen. Harry B. Burchstead, the state's deputy adjutant general.

The principal of Ware Shoals High School, Jane Blackwell, is accused of telling a school staff member and several cheerleaders that they could not speak about the allegations against Moore. She has been charged with obstruction of justice and hindering the investigation. Both the coach and the principal have denied all the allegations against them.