SoWal High School Coach Arrested for Sex Abuse

[dunelover]

The abuse has been on going for years. I am a former student of his. It was last year that i was in LMS with him, he is a pervert and deserves what he gets. I personally know people that had gone to the office, a year ago, to simply get out of there for being unconfortable around him. I dont know exactly who all im talking to but principals rarly ever believe what kids say, especially when there is a teacher there to say the exact opposite. The only reason he got caught is because in a matter of a few weeks about 15 girls came forward about something that had happened to them. Only then the school thought it was right to investigate...

Skye, I have to respond to your comment about principals rarely believing what kids say------please know that if that is the case, be strong, tell someone else, a parent, a counselor, a friend, a church leader, anyone, just keep telling until someone believes.....If you fight the battles like that now, they will provide much training for those that you encounter later in life. I am sad that you feel that way, and I hope you have parents that stand by you in support when that happens.

I also hope you encourage every one of your friends who "went to the office to get out from being uncomfortable around him" to share that info with their parents or police now. You never know how that little bit might help with the investigation.

 

[Hollibird]

So far I haven't read what he actually did... did he rape someone? touch them, wink at them? what was the misconduct? If it has been going on for years, what are some of the stories? The princpal should be held accountable if even one girl complained and nothing was done.

We had a female gym teacher in middle school (Maryland) who insisted that we strip down for showers and hand her our towels while we ran through the showers while she stared at us. everyone joked behind her back but now I see that we should have reported her. No teacher needs to see students naked.

 

[dunelover]

So far I haven't read what he actually did... did he rape someone? touch them, wink at them? what was the misconduct? If it has been going on for years, what are some of the stories? The princpal should be held accountable if even one girl complained and nothing was done.

We had a female gym teacher in middle school (Maryland) who insisted that we strip down for showers and hand her our towels while we ran through the showers while she stared at us. everyone joked behind her back but now I see that we should have reported her. No teacher needs to see students naked.

Wow---I had a highschool girls coach who was not allowed in the locker rooms after a while... Supposedly because of her sexual orientation. I think more awareness that we have today of abuse is so much better. I hope it is more awareness and not more frequency.

 

[tewmnf744]

The question of why he was not fired long ago is the question of the day! Walton COunty protected this man and moved him from Freeport high school after complaints from students and put him into Butler elementary, after complaints he was moved to South Walton high School. It actually took going out of Walton County to the State Attorney's office for anything to be done. This is the second teacher I know of who has acted inappropriately with students in this school and a third was close to inappropriate. They have all been fired.

 

[tewmnf744]

Way to go Skye!!! More people need to speak up and let others know we have had this problem for the 4 years my daughters have been in the school. My girls avoided his classes as well as passing him in halls. Glad he is gone!

 

[tewmnf744]

Supermom says it very well - there are more people in the SoWal area involved in the schools and their children's education than I've seen anywhere else. There are MANY people that donate a ton of time (as in full time job) to improve the schools here. It would be very hard to find a more dedicated group. Every day I see the school programs evolving and improving. In the last 5 years, I have never been dissapointed with my children's teachers or education. Athough we were hesitant to move here due to the schools (the high school wasn't here yet), we are very happy we did. Don't let it stop you.

Note that there are many reasons why a school's grade would slip from an A to a B, and as someone mentioned above, in Butler's case, they missed an A last year by just a few points. It is very difficult to get an A rating year after year, and it was due to a couple of students that were behind, not improving their score enough.

It is disheartening to see Coach Cozzie accused of this crime, but unfortunately, remember that this conduct could happen any where and I don't believe it should be a reflection of our school system. In fact, my understanding is that the principal immediately suspended Coach Cozzie as soon as the misconduct was reported to him, which is a good thing. At some schools it would have taken a while for the girls to be believed and for action to be taken.

Moved my children here 5 years ago and withstanding the current issue I have never regretted the move as far as education was involved. The teachers are caring and supportive, the office personell is personal with the children and their parents, and the principles are great. The guidance dept. excells in helping children get ready for college and it has been a very happy time for my family

 

[dunelover]

The question of why he was not fired long ago is the question of the day! Walton COunty protected this man and moved him from Freeport high school after complaints from students and put him into Butler elementary, after complaints he was moved to South Walton high School. It actually took going out of Walton County to the State Attorney's office for anything to be done. This is the second teacher I know of who has acted inappropriately with students in this school and a third was close to inappropriate. They have all been fired.

This is interesting to me. How did the principal respond to complaints? If not effectively, is someone attempting to hold the principal and/or others accountable as well?

 

[skye]

This is interesting to me. How did the principal respond to complaints? If not effectively, is someone attempting to hold the principal and/or others accountable as well?

The county really wasnt effective either, instead of investigating into it further they just decided to change the school he worked at. -like that was gonna help! I believe, if somebody should go down with Cozzie it should be the school board or whoever is responsible for giving him two other chances to harass students at other schools.

 

[Camp Creek Kid]

The county really wasnt effective either, instead of investigating into it further they just decided to change the school he worked at. -like that was gonna help! I believe, if somebody should go down with Cozzie it should be the school board or whoever is responsible for giving him two other chances to harass students at other schools.

Are you saying that these allegations have gone on for years? Is the school change that you are referring to when he switched from Butler to Emerald Coast (which was actually a wing of the high school at the time)? I believe this was in 2003.

 

[Camp Creek Kid]

It doesn't happen to the other family, or the other children. It also happens to your children. Keep you eyes open and explain these statistics to your kids. It sucks that we have to scare our kids, but that's life in 2007.

Parents also need to be aware of abuse of younger children by older children. For example, allowing a young pre-teen daughter to spend the night at a friend's house where there is a teenaged brother. There are hundreds of scenarios.