By Alexa Epitropoulos | aepitropoulos@alextimes.com

A longtime St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes coach and equipment manager has been arrested for soliciting sex from a female minor, SSSAS Head of School Kirsten Adams announced to the school community in an email sent Tuesday afternoon.

Richard “Rick” Allison Jr., a member of SSSAS’ athletic department since 1999, was arrested and charged with soliciting sex from a minor in Middlesex County in Virginia. Allison was arrested early Tuesday morning at his Alexandria residence by Virginia State Police, who were executing a search warrant, according to the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office.

Allison faces 19 felony indictments, including seven counts of attempted indecent liberties with children, 11 counts of use of a computer to facilitate certain offenses involving children and one additional indictment, according to the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office.

Allison was a coach for the school’s middle and upper schools and served as assistant to the athletic directors/equipment manager, according to the school. The school was informed of the arrest by the Alexandria Police Department Tuesday morning.

Allison also coached the D.C. Divas, a women’s full-contact football team, in 2014 as offensive coordinator. Allison’s biography on the team’s website said Allison had also coached the D.C. Divas in 2009, but resigned shortly before the season began for personal reasons.

The school has banned Allison from the school’s campuses and school events and he is not allowed to contact members of the school community. SSSAS said it has launched an internal investigation on Allison.

The school said in the email it does background checks, reference checks and screening steps as part of its hiring policies and procedures. The school said it also does annual training for its faculty and staff regarding the prevention of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior.

Adams shared the news about Allison with upper school students and parents on Tuesday afternoon.

“I encourage members of the community to contact me with questions, concerns, or relevant information. Moreover, we will be making our counselors and chaplains available to our students to aid them in processing this very difficult news,” Adams said in the email.

Allison was charged following a several week long investigation that was conducted by the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office, who are members of the Southern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children, according to a news release. During the investigation, contact was made with Allison, which resulted in the presentment of indictments to the Grand Jury of Middlesex County. The Northern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children executed the search warrant and arrest of Allison.

The news release said Allison was transported to the Middle Peninsula Security Center, which is located in Saluda, Virginia, where he is being held without bond.