Little Rock high school coach arrested, accused of having sexual relationship with student

William Hardiman
William Hardiman

A Little Rock high school football coach has been arrested on a sexual assault charge after being accused of having a sexual relationship with a student, police said.

William Hardiman, a coach at Parkview High School, was placed on paid administrative leave last month. At the time, the Little Rock School District said he was on leave pending the investigation of a personnel matter.

Police said Monday that Parkview Principal Dexter Booth received an anonymous letter in the mail in May stating that Hardiman had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a student during the 2014-15 school year. Booth then contacted authorities.

Detectives interviewed the victim, who spoke of the relationship with Hardiman, according to a news release from Little Rock police.

The attorney general’s office helped locate forensic evidence, police said.

Hardiman, 45, surrendered to police Friday after a warrant on a first-degree sexual assault charge was issued, according to the release.

He was not listed on the Pulaski County jail roster Monday.

Hardiman has been Parkview's coach since 2007 and is 43-59 in nine seasons at the school. The Patriots went 5-5 last season and missed the Class 6A playoffs. They did not record a victory against a winning team in 2015.

Kenny Stephens was announced as interim coach in August when Hardiman was placed on leave, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette previously reported.

Read Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

Jeremy Muck of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette contributed to this story.

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