Accused of Lewd Behavior, Coach Continues to Be All Over School's Social Media
Accused of Lewd Behavior, Coach Continues to Be All Over School's Social Media
Ben White To Appear in Court on January 4
Former Clay County teacher Benjamin White was arrested in August 2023. Until February, White was the assistant football coach and the head girl’s weightlifting coach at Oakleaf High School. According to court and school district documents, White is accused of inappropriate physical contact and text messages with female students at Oakleaf.
Students came forward with allegations after White accepted a new job as the head football coach at Pedro Menendez High School in St. Johns County. After investigations by the Clay County School District and the State Attorney’s Office, White was charged with lewd and lascivious contact with a minor between the ages of 12 and 16. Though the allegations were brought forward in March, the arrest warrant was not issued until four months later in July.
But now, nine months after the allegations were made and four months after White’s arrest, Oakleaf High School’s social media pages reflect a different reality. Several social media accounts tied to the school have public posts praising White alongside members of the girl’s weightlifting team he coached.
In cases of sexual offenses involving minors, the names of the victims are not made public. However, investigation documents reveal that at least one of the minors White is accused of harming was a member of the girl’s weightlifting team.
Oakleaf High’s main Facebook page still has two posts featuring Ben White available to the public. Clay News & Views has removed the names and faces of the minors featured in the pictures below.
In addition to the school’s Facebook page, and X (formerly Twitter), account with the display name Oakleaf High School Girls Weightlifting (username: oakleaf_gwl) features dozens of posts with White and members of the Oakleaf girl’s weightlifting team.
Sadly, social media accounts tied to Oakleaf High School are not the only accounts posts mentioning Ben White. The X account for the Clay School District Athletics Department also has at least one post with White prominently featured.
Lastly, the X account for the Florida High School Athletic Association also has posts featuring Ben White.
Why are all these posts still online months after the allegations against White and his subsequent arrest? The best-case explanation would be simple oversight by those who manage these social media accounts. But given the nature of the allegations against Ben White, Clay County Schools must do a better job.