Indianapolis coach, mentor faces six counts in child sexual misconduct case
Indianapolis police have arrested a longtime coach and mentor accused of inappropriately touching a 15-year-old who was staying at his house.
The teen boy was staying with the man for about four weeks and other mentees had spent the night at the house, according to court documents. The case against the coach involves just one teen, and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department representatives did not respond when asked if there may be other victims.
Gordan Darnell Bass, 53, was arrested June 27 and indicted on six felony charges: four counts of sexual misconduct, one count of child seduction and one count of dissemination of matter harmful to minors.
Bass denied any sexual intention, but told investigators there was physical contact between him and the teenager and some could have been "accidentally" sexual, according to court documents.
Bass pleaded not guilty and has a bond set at $7500. He was also issued a no-contact order. He did not have a lawyer listed in online court records.
Bass may have been working with children since 1996, according to a review of court and online records.
He was a mentor with the Wheeler Dowe Boys & Girls Club of Indianapolis from 1996 to 2005 and began teaching with Indianapolis Public Schools in 2013, according to his LinkedIn. High School Athletic Association records list Bass as an assistant coach at Lawrence Central High School in 2010 and said he taught football at John Marshall High School from 2016-17. A comment from court records suggests he may have worked at Northwest Middle School.
A spokesperson said Bass worked for the Lawrence schools from 2020-24 and no longer has any affiliation with the district.
Bass is currently employed as an Indianapolis Public Schools teacher but is on suspension pending investigation. The IPS official declined to specify where Bass worked.
Public records indicate Bass made just over $102,000 teaching at James W. Riley Elementary in 2024. A document on the IPS website said Bass worked as a behavior modification specialist.
His professional educator license was listed as valid as of July 1 and set to expire in 2032.
The teenager said he was staying at Bass's home over the summer to improve at basketball.
The teenager had a room in the coach's house. He made an outcry to his family after he woke up and found Bass inappropriately touching him, according to court records.
The teenager said he had been inappropriately touched over 10 times. He was concerned he wouldn't be able to play basketball if he told anyone, the teen told a family member in court records.
Bass paid for some of the teenager's sports opportunities and personal items, according to court documents. The coach was considered part of the family, someone close to the teen told investigators.
Four days before Bass's arrest, Indianapolis police arrested an assistant track & field coach at Ben Davis High School who was accused of inappropriately touching a student.
Harrison Goss was charged with five felony counts of child seduction as a child care worker.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Los Angeles Times
After ‘American Idol' exec killing and other recent break-ins, Encino residents demand LAPD action
Encino community leaders on Thursday asked Mayor Karen Bass to increase security following a deadly home invasion and a string of other break-ins in the San Fernando Valley hillside neighborhood. 'American Idol' music supervisor Robin Kaye and her rock musician husband, Tom DeLuca, were killed in their Encino home by an intruder earlier this month. The Hayvenhurst Avenue home of 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' star Teddi Mellencamp was also targeted last week by three intruders who jumped a fence and entered the property. Two other burglaries occurred in recent weeks, including an incident on Ostrom Avenue, where a homeowner shot a 14-year-old intruder, according to residents. The Los Angeles Police Department has responded to the uptick in violence by increasing patrols and adding measures such as officers on horseback. But some neighbors are still too scared to leave their homes, said Rob Glushon, president of the Encino Property Owners Assn. 'People are afraid,' he told reporters. 'People are angry.' Glushon and others leaders want Bass and the LAPD to create a real-time crime monitoring center at a local police station, similar to one in Beverly Hills. They also want a new police substation in Encino, drones to track suspicious cars and crime, license plate readers at major intersections, and weekly public meetings with LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell. Bass spokesperson Clara Karger said some of the requests sought by Encino community leaders have already been added. In addition to increasing patrols, the city has deployed license plate readers, and is working with the L.A. County Sheriff's Department's Burglary/Robbery Taskforce on targeting organized crime rings, she said. 'Last year we took urgent action to successfully address a spate of crime in the Valley and our response efforts helped. We will continue to do all we can to keep Angelenos safe,' Karger said. 'Crime was down last year and homicide totals are on track to be the lowest in 60 years.' A Zoom meeting with Bass, Councilmember Nithya Raman, state Sen. Henry Stern (D-Los Angeles) and Glushon and other neighborhood leaders is planned for Thursday night. Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman met with Encino residents last week during a crowded town hall on the recent violence. He told the crowd last week that as a lifelong Angeleno, the twin killings were personal to him. 'The government owes you one thing and that's safety,' Hochman said. 'Robin and Tom didn't experience safety that night. Safety failed them.' Kaye and DeLuca, who were both 70, had been dead inside their home for four days when officers found their bodies during a welfare check after a neighbor called police concerned that they hadn't seen or heard from them for a few days. It marked the third time in recent months that LAPD officers went to a location in the San Fernando Valley after receiving a 911 call and left, only to return later to a homicide. Menashe Hidra's body was found April 26 inside his fifth-floor Valley Village apartment after an assailant broke into a neighboring unit, jumped from the balcony to Hidra's unit and attacked him, investigators said. Neighbors called 911 and reported hearing shouting and a struggle coming from the apartment. Officers responded to those calls, knocked on the door and left without finding anything. A 27-year-old man was later charged with killing Hidra. The same day that Hidra's body was discovered, police found the body of Aleksandre Modebadze, who was beaten to death inside his Woodland Hills home. In that case, a woman inside the home called LAPD about 12:30 a.m. and reported three people had broken into her home and were beating her significant other before the call suddenly cut out, according to law enforcement sources. Shortly before 1 a.m., officers arrived at the home but no one answered the door, the sources told The Times. Authorities found Modebadze's suspected killers hours after the incident. Glushon said Thursday that the LAPD needs to examine its policy for entering homes. 'There's obviously a problem,' he said. Locals also said Thursday that they are also concerned about a well-known 'party house' next door to where Kaye and DeLuca lived, and described seeing multiple cars without license plates in the area. Encino resident Vlad Gold, 49, said that burglaries in Encino are common, but he's now considering getting a guard dog after the couple's murder. 'It's just horrible,' he said. Times staff writer Richard Winton contributed to this report.
Indianapolis Star
2 days ago
- Indianapolis Star
Court docs: Ex-IMPD officer abused two children years before retiring from the force
Editor's note: This article contains descriptions of child abuse. If you suspect a child is being abused or neglected, call the Indiana Department of Child Services' Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 1-800-800-5556. The hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All adults are mandated reporters in Indiana. A former Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer once commended for his work with crime victims now stands accused of sexually abusing two young girls, according to court documents. David B. McDaniel, 54, faces two counts of child molestation and a third count of attempting to molest a child under the age of 14. The investigation began earlier this month when two 17-year-old girls told their families and McDaniel's ex-wife that they both had been abused by McDaniel multiple times, beginning when they were about eight and nine years old. Both girls reported that they were first abused by McDaniel while on out-of-state trips with him in Florida and Tennessee. They told police they discussed the assaults with one another, but never told an adult. Each girl also described being awoken by sexual assaults during the night while staying at McDaniel's house. McDaniel was a member of IMPD between 1995 and March 2024, and had been on the force for more than 20 years when the alleged abuse began in 2016. In 2022, McDaniel was honored with a plaque from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Indiana for his "outstanding commitment to serving crime victims and pursuing excellence in victim services." The ceremony was held in connection with National Crime Victims' Rights Week, a part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. IMPD declined to comment except to confirm that McDaniel is a former officer. After retiring from IMPD last year, McDaniel worked as a police officer at Ascension St. Vincent. The health system did not respond to a request for comment. IndyStar has requested McDaniel's personnel file from IMPD. Ex-IMPD David McDaniel: Retired IMPD officer arrested for allegedly molesting a child McDaniel was on vacation with his brother in Florida when the ISP investigation began, detectives wrote. One of the victim's parents received a text message from McDaniel imploring them to help his family "because they are embarrassed about what happened and afraid to lose their dad." In another message, McDaniel said that "if I end this now, (then) hopefully it doesn't come out publicly" and would at least save the victims and his family humiliation. "(There's) nothing I can do or say that will change or fix this so I have to figure out what's the best way to minimize (the) impact," the message read in part. McDaniel's brother told police on July 12 that he believed McDaniel would take his own life, but that he was trying to talk him into turning himself in and doing the right thing. Court documents don't specify where McDaniel was over the next 10 days, but on July 22 he was arrested by Indiana State Police during a traffic stop in New Palestine. A document titled "The Last Will & Testament of David Brian McDaniel" could be clearly seen on the front passenger's seat, investigators noted. McDaniel is being held in the Hancock County Jail. His initial hearing was scheduled for July 30 at 1 p.m. On July 22, IMPD officer Nicholas Cauley was arrested after investigators say he used police resources to stalk and harass his ex-wife. Four IMPD officers were charged with sex crimes last year. One of the defendants, Paul Humphrey, pleaded guilty to six counts of sexual misconduct with a minor on July 14. He's accused of abusing a 15-year-old girl in January 2024. The three other cases remain pending. In September 2024, Kamal Bola, an officer of six years, was arrested in Hendricks County and charged with public voyeurism, three counts of child molesting, and one count of committing the crime of deadly force or being armed with a deadly weapon. In August 2024, Javed Richards, an officer of 12 years who worked in internal affairs, was charged with 13 counts of child exploitation and one count of possession of child pornography after detectives discovered Richards was allegedly uploading and downloading material sexually exploiting children on the internet. In April 2024, Lateral officer Myron Howard, who was with the department for one year, was charged with rape, criminal confinement, official misconduct, making an unlawful proposition, public indecency and public nudity. He's accused of sexually assaulting two women in two separate situations after they had called 911 for help.
Skift
3 days ago
- Skift
Fraudster Scams Event Planner Out of $20K
A scam is exploiting the credibility of big-name brands to defraud event planners. One planner is out nearly $20,000, and she's not alone. A veteran event producer says she lost nearly $20,000 after being targeted by a fraudster posing as a corporate executive planning a launch party. And she has since learned she's not the only one. A man posing as a representative from Glidden Paints reached out to Nirjary Desai, founder of KIS Cubed Events about a corporate event in Atlanta. Glidden was opening a new office in Atlanta, the man claimed, and wanted to throw a party and team-building event. There was a caveat: The company required the use of three 'preferred vendors.' Desai was instructed to pay these vendors directly and she'd be reimbursed. 'I explained I must do my due diligence and speak to each vendor, have them fill out W9s, and receive proper invoices,' Desai told Skift. Each vendor provided invoices, tax documents, and took Desai's calls, a layer of credibility that made the scam more convincing. To pay the vendors, the fraudster would send her $10,000 via credit card. There were multiple declines, but the payment finally appeared to go through and she paid out $9,400 to the 'vendors,' an audio visual company, a photographer, and a singer. Desai needed to see the space where the event would be held but the scammer canceled two site visits at the last minute. Chance Meeting Desai went to the office building anyway, and by coincidence, met another planner in the parking lot: Patricia Stinson, who had received the same lead. The two found the building's security team, who confirmed there was no Glidden Paints office there. She contacted Glidden's corporate office, which said it had no knowledge of an event, and no plans for an Atlanta office. Desai has since reported the incident to Atlanta police and is in contact with Glidden's legal team. Glidden did not respond to a request for comment from Skift. Then she realized a fraudulent $10,000 withdrawal had been taken from her account. A test deposit of one penny — a common step in ACH fraud — had preceded it. The withdrawal went through based on a fraudulent invoice using the bank account information Desai had provided to get set up in the centralized payment system. A second financial loss soon followed.. The initial $10,000 payment that she thought had gone through hadn't actually cleared before she paid vendors. The credit card company told her the fraudster used a stolen card to make the payment. In total, Desai is out nearly $20,000. 'I immediately froze all of our accounts and filed a cybercrime report,' she said. 'Police told me this isn't just fraud. It's a major crime targeting small businesses.' The scammer's fake LinkedIn profile – he went by 'Gregory Mount' – and the vendor websites have been deleted. The URL he had provided was a phishing scheme, Desai has learned. Although it did direct her to the Glidden website, it was designed to steal all of her data, financial information included. A Wider Scam Unfolds In an industry Facebook group, dozens of Atlanta-area planners have reported similar outreach from a Gregory Mount. Some caught the fraud in time. Stinson, the planner Desai met at the office, had not exchanged any funds with Mount. She did waste time though. 'From now on, we'll only take clients via referral. When I asked who referred me, the man gave me a name I didn't recognize. I should have left it at that,' said Stinson. 'But I trusted him and went to the office building to look around.' Another target, Steve Moore, director of special events at Affairs at the Fox, received a similar inquiry from Mount. 'He insisted we would have to process credit card payments in order to get the job,' said Moore. That was a red flag and Moore began digging: 'I couldn't find any Glidden office set to open in Atlanta. I couldn't find Mount on social media and his email was which didn't seem right.' Moore credits his skepticism to his company's weekly security training. 'That made a difference,' he said. Industry on High Alert For Desai, the financial hit is devastating. But the emotional toll is equally painful. 'This is a coordinated attack on our industry,' Desai said. 'They're exploiting trusted brands to gain credibility. We need stronger safeguards, and better brand accountability.' According to the 2025 AFP Payments Fraud and Control Survey, 79% of organizations experienced attempted or actual payments fraud last year. The most common method is business email compromise — often through spoofed emails and fake vendor scams like this one. For the events industry, the takeaway is to verify everything: names, domains, projects — and especially payments. In addition, cyber insurance policies usually cover losses caused by phishing attacks. Desai is in talks with her insurance provider about adding this to her coverage.
