Javelin Coach in Pennsylvania Arrested for Sexual Assaulting 17-Year-Old Athlete

A Penn­syl­va­nia javelin coach is fac­ing charges for alleged­ly sex­u­al­ly assault­ing a 17-year-old stu­dent ath­lete under her tutelage.

The coach, Han­nah Mars, was arrest­ed after author­i­ties dis­cov­ered that she had a sex­u­al rela­tion­ship with a stu­dent from Northamp­ton Area High School’s track and field team.

Accord­ing to pros­e­cu­tors, Mars invit­ed the vic­tim to her home at 2 a.m. in May 2021, where they had sex. Mars was employed as a javelin coach for the team at the time of the alleged assault.

The vic­tim report­ed that she and Mars had been in a rela­tion­ship until Octo­ber 2020. Mars lat­er admit­ted to the roman­tic involve­ment with the stu­dent to authorities.

Mars has been charged with insti­tu­tion­al sex­u­al assault and ath­let­ic sex­u­al assault, both of which are third-degree felonies.

Dis­trict Attor­ney Ter­rence Houk empha­sized the impor­tance of trust and respon­si­bil­i­ty in the rela­tion­ship between coach­es and student-athletes.

Mars’s arrest has been report­ed to the school dis­trict where she teach­es, and offi­cials have promised to take all nec­es­sary steps to ensure the safe­ty of students.

Mars was arraigned on Thurs­day after­noon and released on $75,000 unse­cured bail.