Skyview High School teacher Eric Estes, left, is escorted back to jail after appearing in Clark County District Court on June 12.
FREDRICK, Md. — A Skyview High School teacher and coach accused of child abuse and sex offenses posted $50,000 bail Thursday after he was formally charged following extradition from Vancouver.
Frederick police charged Eric Meredith Estes, 41, with third-degree sex offense, attempted second-degree sex offense and child abuse where the accused is a household resident.
Estes was arrested this month in Vancouver, where he has been a social studies teacher and coach for the past 14 years. Estes must notify the court if his address changes and have no contact with the alleged victim, according to court documents. He did not return a phone message Friday.
Estes was a right-handed pitcher for the Frederick Keys minor league baseball team in 1997. He was 25 when he lived in the home of the alleged victim, a 13-year-old boy, from April through September of that year, according to court documents.
During that time, Estes allegedly wrestled with the boy and touched his buttocks and genitals, as well as his own, and asked the boy to perform a sexual act. These events occurred in bedrooms in the home of the alleged victim and in Estes’ vehicle, according to court documents.
The alleged victim came forward in 2007, but Estes denied the charges, documents state. Detective Brendan McCarthy of the Clark County Sheriff’s Office said Friday that the case was reopened after he learned about it last year and got approval from supervisors to look into it further.
McCarthy said it appeared Estes was not interviewed in depth in 2007.
Estes confessed to the crime during an interview with Clark County deputies in May, McCarthy said. He said there were no indications of other possible victims.
Frederick Keys General Manager Dave Ziedelis has said there have been no complaints about Estes’ time with the team during the decade Ziedelis has worked with the Keys.
Estes remained on paid administrative leave with Vancouver Public Schools on Friday, spokeswoman Pat Mattison said. In addition to teaching social studies at Skyview High School, Estes coached the baseball team. In 2013, Skyview won the state’s 4A championship.
Mattison has said she was not aware of any complaints against Estes during his time with the school district.
“We’ve never had any complaints from teachers or students,” Mattison said.
