SCOTT COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — A Scott County High School teacher and boys' basketball coach is on leave and will not return for the 2026-2027 school year following a state investigation into allegations of sexual harassment involving two students.
Documents obtained from an open records request reveal that the teacher and coach is former University of Kentucky basketball player Sean Woods.
Tosha Williamson said her daughter, a junior enrolled at Scott County High School last fall, experienced inappropriate, one-on-one conversations with Woods. Woods is also a Jobs for America's Graduates (JAG) teacher at the school.
"It was sexual in nature and something that I would, even as an adult, I don't think I would be comfortable having a conversation with that context," Williamson said.
Williamson said her daughter and another student both experienced similar conversations with Woods, and that both situations were so disturbing the students requested to transfer to another school.
While Williamson said she immediately went to the school with her concerns, she feels like administrators were not thorough enough with the investigation or forthcoming with her about their findings.
"There was an internal investigation that felt more like an interrogation to my daughter a couple of times, told the same thing over and over again. Ultimately they told me their findings were unsubstantiated," Williamson said.
Documents obtained via open records request show a more complex picture. While one claim against Woods, which is redacted in the documents, was found to be unsubstantiated, a second claim of unprofessional conduct was partially substantiated. Williamson said the school did not inform her of this.
"I didn't have the entire picture, I guess, of what actually occurred during those interviews when they interviewed other students," Williamson said.
According to documents from the school's internal investigation, multiple students claim Woods would talk with them about parties. One student detailed that class conversations would include what they were doing, which could consist of things like parties, drinking, and mentioning if they had sex. The student noted that Woods would sometimes jump in on the conversation but would give students advice, like not drinking and driving.
Other student interviews detail that Woods' JAG class had a "mixed vibe" where class conversations would drift to "loose talk of student life" and "party talk" during informal conversations between students, with some students near Woods' table or desk. The documents state that Woods has "boundary issues."
At least one staff member also came forward with concerns that Woods' class was "ineffective and undisciplined."
"They let it just kind of be swept under the rug. Shocked and angry, really. I just truly could not believe in 2026 how this is being handled," Williamson said.
Following the school's self-report to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Williamson shared a letter dated March 17 she received from Child Protective Services, which substantiates allegations against Woods of child abuse or neglect.
Notably, another similar letter, sent to parent Samantha Eddington, substantiates the same allegations -- child abuse and neglect -- towards another student.
A statement from Scott County Schools on Tuesday confirms that an employee at Scott County High School has been placed on leave pending resolution of proceedings, including any appeals, with a Kentucky state agency. The employee will not be returning for the 2026-2027 school year.
The statement also says the district took steps to ensure student safety, like notifying all appropriate state agencies and local law enforcement, and that a thorough comprehensive investigative review was conducted internally, which concluded Dec. 4.
"I would just hope that going forward, school systems across the nation, not just in Scott County, not just Kentucky, take things seriously because they're teaching these children that speaking up doesn't matter, and they don't care, and you just accept it and move on. And if anything's going to change, people are going to have to start pushing back on that," Williamson said.
LEX 18 reached out to Sean Woods, for a statement on the investigation but as of this publishing have not received anything back yet.
Meanwhile, Team Kentucky issued the following statement:
Team Kentucky is committed to protecting the health and wellbeing of everyone across the commonwealth and treats any allegation of abuse with the highest level of seriousness and urgency.
Team Kentucky added that anyone with reasonable suspicion that a child could be experiencing abuse or neglect is required by state law to make a report to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Kentuckians can also call 877-597-2331 or 800-752-6200 to report a case.
