Country Day School Coach Arrested

According to CMPD Detectives with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) have arrested and charged a former high school track coach in a Special Victims Division-Sexual Assault Unit (SAU) investigation.

On Friday, November 8, 2024, an adult victim reported to police that she had been in an inappropriate relationship with her former cross-country coach while enrolled at a local private high school.

The victim identified Matthew Elliott, 39, as the suspect.  The case was then assigned to the CMPD’s Sexual Assault Unit (SAU).

The victim told investigators that Elliott began initially flirting with her and made numerous advances and that they had an inappropriate relationship.

As a result of the investigation, detectives developed probable cause and obtained arrest warrants against Mr. Elliott.

On Wednesday, November 13, 2024, the CMPD detectives arrested Elliott at his home, without incident. He was taken to the Law Enforcement Center and later transported to the custody of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office.

Matthew P Elliott Photo MCSO

He has been charged with the following:

Indecent Liberties with a Student (2 counts)

Charlotte Country Day School has confirmed Elliot was a Cross Country and Track & Field coach & substitute and had been w/the school since 2015. 

He’s since been terminated and barred from the campuses. This is the letter the school sent to its families, updating them on Elliot.

Mr. Elliott bonded out of jail late Thursday morning. 

Cedar's Take:

Y'all need to calm down. Reading comprehension counts. "Adult Victim" means she was 18. "Alum" means she was once a student and has since graduated. No telling what the real facts are but there will be no winners in this case.

I coached girls soccer and I had a firm "two foot rule". Stay at least two feet from the coach at all times. 

A "no contact rule" off the field. My cell number was not to be shared with players, only parents had the coach's cell number. Any player contacting the coach off the field in any way would be dropped from the team period. Since this was a travel team no player rides with the coach, ever! Not even with another adult.

All that said much to my shock on more than one occasion one of my players showed up at my house! One at Halloween and other at Christmas. Basically they were greeted with a kind by firm "git off my lawn".

Society has become so hyper sensitive about this that they created the law that Elliott was charged under.

So we have this person in an influence role (coach - teacher) and that makes it unlawful even if the victim is an adult (18 Years of Age). 

But making death threats against the guy is nuts. Y'all knock it off.

The truth is I saw these storm clouds on the horizon. The follow on from the Catholic Priest allegations in the 1990s and the Wilmington Daycare madness known as the Little Rascals Daycare case. 

As much as I liked coaching I gave that mess up.