BARTOW, Fla. — Bartow High School's head football coach was arrested for inappropriate behavior towards female students, deputies said on Thursday.
The Polk County Sheriff's Office stated that they launched an investigation on April 2 after a parent reported inappropriate conversations that Tyler Eden, 31, had with their 16-year-old daughter when she met with him to perform extracurricular work in exchange for community service hours. Eden has also been a PE teacher at the school since 2023.
Detectives interviewed students and a school administrator during their investigation and learned that Eden asked a student if she wanted to earn community service hours by helping him with his athletic chores. The student agreed and headed to the locker room.
PCSO said that while the victim was sorting football helmets at Eden's direction, he talked to her about a teacher who "wanted to have sex with him" in the locker room. The victim told Eden that she didn't want to talk about that, but Eden continued with the conversation, telling her that he was married but still wanted to engage in sexual activity with the teacher.
The following day, the victim returned to perform more community service. As she was helping Eden break down boxes, her hoodie jacket got caught on a box, and the zipper broke open. Since she was wearing the hoodie as a top, she asked Eden if she could have a t-shirt to put on so she could cover herself up.
The victim said Eden then reached out and unzipped her jacket all the way. Eden repeatedly tried to "fix" the jacket despite the victim telling him she was uncomfortable, and he eventually handed her a t-shirt.
"Hitting on children is not acceptable. Inappropriately touching children is even worse," said Sheriff Grady Judd.
The victim walked into a separate locker room area to change, but when she turned around, she said Eden was standing behind her and watching. According to PCSO, Eden complimented her bra and told her repeatedly that there were no cameras there. She told Eden again that she was uncomfortable, and Eden asked her not to report the incident.
“He violated all the ethics and morals of our community and the law. We’re supposed to trust teachers,” said Judd.
PCSO said the student told her parents that evening, and then the school administrators the next day. Eden told administrators that he only provided the student with a shirt. However, when he was informed that he was being placed on administrative leave, he stated that he "wanted to admit something" and told staff that he had attempted to help fix the victim's zipper at her request.
“That’s very concerning. I’m a parent myself. I have four kids, so that’s very concerning,” said Farmesha Morris. “Teachers should protect them while they’re in their care, always.”
Detectives interviewed two other female students during the investigation. One reported that Eden told her there were no cameras in the locker rooms and that it would be "easy to do certain things in there." He also told her a similar story about another teacher wanting to have sex with him.
The second student told detectives that Eden asked her what she wanted to do when she graduated, to which she replied that she wanted to attend college to become an obstetrician/gynecologist. According to PCSO, Eden told the student in graphic language that he himself would "be a good gynecologist" because he liked to perform oral sex. He then asked the victim if she wanted to earn community service hours, and she declined.
“It’s unconscionable that an educator and coach would engage in this kind of behavior with students. This individual has shown that he cannot be trusted and deserves to face justice for his actions. We commend the Polk County Sheriff’s Office for their thorough investigation and for taking action to protect students," Polk County Public Schools Superintendent Fred Heid said.
PCPS said in a statement that they are terminating Eden’s employment due to the arrest, and he will have no further involvement with students.
Eden was arrested and charged with lewd offense against a student by an authority figure, lewd and lascivious touching of a minor, and voyeurism. He was booked into the Polk County Jail and will have a first appearance hearing on April 17.
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