PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A youth basketball coach at The POINT youth center in Parkesburg, Chester County is accused of raping one of the female players.
Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan described Sutton-Best as “a child predator who preyed on teen girls.”
Ryan says Sutton-Best was a volunteer basketball coach at the Parkesburg Point Youth Center. According to charging documents, a 13-year-old said 31-year-old Ameer Sutton-Best picked her up at her home in late June or early July, drove her to a parking lot near her house, and raped her in the back seat of his SUV.
The girl’s mother said in mid-August that she received calls and messages from Sutton-Best’s acquaintances asking how they could “make this go away.” She told police that responded by saying her daughter is 13, and Sutton-Best is 31, “so this was not going away.”
In addition to rape, he is also accused of inappropriate communications with other 13- and 14-year-olds from the youth center.
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The DA’s office says, when staff at the youth center learned about the allegations, they immediately cooperated and reported what they knew.
Sutton-Best is in Chester County jail on $1 million bail. It’s not clear if Sutton-Best has hired a lawyer.
CLARIFICATION: This story has been updated to reflect that Sutton-Best was a volunteer basketball coach.