Former youth football coach accused of child neglect, lascivious conduct against players appears in court

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A former Jacksonville youth football coach who is accused of child neglect and lascivious conduct of someone under the age of 16 appeared in court Friday afternoon.

Eric Philpot, 39, was a youth football coach for the Jacksonville Red Devils and volunteered with the team for the current season.

Parents expressed outrage over the accusations, saying they trust volunteers to protect their kids and help keep them out of trouble.

One of the player’s mothers said she called the police multiple times after a teammate showed her videos of Philpot interacting in suggestive behavior with multiple 11 to 13-year-old boys.

According to the mother, the boys would go to the coach’s house on Fridays and spend the night before Saturday games.

News4JAX learned that Philpot was the coach of other teams in the area as well, and the children involved had been coached by Philpot for years.

A former assistant coach, who spoke to News4JAX on a condition of anonymity, said he feels betrayed.

“It didn’t matter if he didn’t know all of the Xs and Os, he was going to get the kids and he was dedicated to that. Unfortunately, now I see why,” the former assistant coach told New4JAX when asked how he viewed Philpot before the arrest.

The former assistant coach said Philpot’s alleged actions hurt a lot of people.

“It’s a major blow because in a lot of situations you have single mothers, single fathers that trust and lean on that coach to be able to pick that child up or just assist. But then when you have a situation like this, who can you trust?” he said.

Since his arrest, Philpot was immediately removed from the staff and will have no further association with the Red Devils organization.

The organization is considering counseling for players following this incident. The president of the Red Devils told News4JAX that the organization does perform background checks on everyone, in addition to the city’s background checks.

Philpot’s bond was set at $115,000, and he can’t have any contact with minors.

His next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 27.


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A Florida-born, Emmy Award winning journalist and proud NC A&T SU grad