Saturday, January 20, 2007

Basketball Coach Arrested: Accused of Trespassing


This is a sad story that is posted below.... My Father-in-Law and myself followed Fred Booth's Basketball team very closely. We have been to many of his games in that past several years. I personally thought Coach Booth to be a very friendly person and an excellent basketball coach. He is or should I say was a legend in Glenwood City, WI for his Basketball/Track coaching. I am personally grieved to see a story like this come out.


A longtime Glenwood City High School basketball coach has been suspended after being accused of entering the western Wisconsin home of a former student athlete as she slept this week.

Fred Booth, 57, was jailed Sunday on suspicion of criminal trespassing after he was accused of entering the rural home of Jessica Quinn, 22, and her boyfriend, Jamie Knops, 28. Quinn has since obtained a restraining order against the coach, the second one she has sought against him in the past five years.

"If you meet him on the street, you'd think he's the nicest guy in the world," Knops said Thursday. "But what he did is strange."

The accusations against Booth are far from the impression many area residents have of the coach. Two years ago, Booth retired as an elementary teacher after serving in the district since the 1970s. But he continued to coach the Hilltoppers boys track and basketball teams and has built a winning tradition in the basketball program, capped by a state title in 2001.

After recording his 400th boys basketball victory in 2005, Booth told the Pioneer Press that his goal was to be a mentor and role model.

"It was never about the wins; it was about the kids," Booth said.

He also coached girls cross country, which Quinn participated in.

The district has placed Booth on paid administrative leave as it conducts an investigation, said Superintendent Tim Emholtz. A longtime assistant will coach the basketball team in the meantime.

St. Croix County Sheriff Dennis Hillstead said Quinn, a 2002 Glenwood City graduate, obtained a restraining order that year requiring the coach keep away from her. But while Quinn was away attending college, the order expired in 2004.

Early Sunday morning, Hillstead said, Quinn awoke to find her former coach in the house. She cowered in a second-floor bedroom closet as she called 911. Booth was calling Quinn's name as he climbed the stairs toward her bedroom.

"I knew who it was when he opened the door and called her name. I recognized his voice," said Knops, who was once a member of the boys track team coached by Booth. "He called out her name and started up the steps."

Knops met Booth at the top of the steps and told him to leave.

Booth stopped and said: "I don't want any problems, Jamie. I was just worried about her. … Some things you just can't explain, and the way I feel about Jessica is one of those things."

The incident lasted no more than a minute, Knops said, and while there was no physical confrontation, he said Quinn was frightened.

"I'm guessing he thought she was home alone," he said.

Booth had left when St. Croix County sheriff's deputies arrived about 8:30 a.m. Deputies then went to Booth's home and took him to the St. Croix County jail to be booked.

On Thursday, a man answered the phone at a number listed for Booth, but he hung up when informed the call was from the Pioneer Press.

Booth is scheduled to be in St. Croix County Court on Jan. 26 for a hearing on the restraining order. He is scheduled to be back in court next month on the criminal trespassing charge.

Quinn was working Thursday and could not be reached for comment.

According to the 2002 restraining order, Quinn sought court protection from Booth, claiming he had harassed her.

Booth, according to the order request, had often written notes and letters to Quinn and given her presents. She became concerned after he made comments about being alone with her and after he offered to pay people for information about her, the petition said.

A St. Croix County judge agreed to a settlement prohibiting Booth from having any contact with Quinn. School officials at the time said Booth would likely be disciplined.

Superintendent Emholtz, who did not lead the district then, declined Thursday to say whether Booth had been disciplined for the earlier accusations or for any other reason. Whatever the result, Booth was allowed to keep teaching and coaching.

Hillstead said detectives continue to investigate Booth and whether any other girls or women have been subjected to any unwanted attention by him.

Booth's future as boys track coach also is in question because it is unlikely he would be allowed to run the program while on administrative leave, Emholtz said.

"We need to go through the process and make sure everyone is treated fairly," Emholtz said.

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