High school principal in Texas Panhandle town pleads guilty to sex with students

Jay Cantrell, a former principal and basketball coach at Paducah High School, was sentenced to four concurrent 15-year prison terms on Tuesday for sexually abusing multiple students, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reported. less Jay Cantrell, a former principal and basketball coach at Paducah High School, was sentenced to four concurrent 15-year prison terms on Tuesday for sexually abusing multiple students, the Lubbock ... more Image 1 of / 98 Caption Close High school principal in Texas Panhandle town pleads guilty to sex with students 1 / 98 Back to Gallery

A former principal and basketball coach at a high school in a small Texas Panhandle town pleaded guilty Tuesday to sexually abusing multiple students.

Jay Cantrell, principal and basketball coach at Paducah High School, was sentenced to four concurrent 15-year prison terms on Tuesday, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reported.

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Cantrell, who originally pleaded not guilty, entered a plea agreement May 21, according to the Avalanche-Journal. Under the agreement, Cantrell pleaded guilty to three counts of indecency with a child and one count of sexual assault of a child while the court dropped seven other counts of indecency with a child.

Texas Rangers arrested Cantrell in January 2014 after allegations surfaced that he ordered students younger than 17 to give him oral sex, expose their genitals to him and masturbate in front of him from June 1, 2012, to Feb. 4, 2013, the Avalanche-Journal reported.

Board members at the Paducah Independent School District unanimously voted to fire Cantrell on January 6, three days after his arrest, according to the Amarillo Globe-News.

Cantrell must serve at least half of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole, the Avalanche-Journal reported. The 45-year-old will also be required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life.

Paducah is about 110 miles northeast of Lubbock.

jfechter@mySA.com

Twitter: @JFreports