Harrison Keegan

HKEEGAN@NEWS-LEADER.COM

A former Parkview basketball coach pleaded guilty Tuesday to sexually assaulting a teenager 25 years ago.

Ronnie White, 68, pleaded guilty to one count of deviate sexual assault after admitting he repeatedly abused a female student from 1991 to 1993 while he was coaching at Parkview High School in Springfield.

As part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, two additional charges of deviate sexual assault were dismissed.

White faces up to seven years in prison. He will be sentenced at a hearing on July 29.

According to a probable cause statement, the victim called White in February of 2015, and in a recorded conversation White repeatedly apologized for his behavior while the victim was in high school.

In that conversation, White said he could not control himself, adding that it was “just a mistake."

In the phone conversation, White called his encounters with the then-teenage girl a "fling" and said he and the girl had gotten "wrapped up in each other," the statement says.

The statement says the abuse occurred at the school and at the victim's home.

The statement also details a time that a different teacher walked in on White abusing the girl at the school. The other teacher told police he reported the incident, but White was not fired and the abuse continued.

A bond recommendation document says White was the subject of multiple sexual harassment claims by different girls during his tenure.

Parkview basketball records show that White served as the team’s coach from 1986 to 1995. His career also included coaching stints at Central and Republic.

Answer Man Live! | Springfield News-Leader Ticketing