Former Texas H.S. coach sentenced to 30 years for sexually abusing 15-year-old student

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Cole Patrick Underwood, 29 (Source: Randall County Jail)

PERRYTON, Texas - A coach from the Texas Panhandle who sexually abused a 15-year-old student was sentenced on Tuesday to 30 years in federal prison. Cole Patrick Underwood, a 29-year-old coach from Perryton ISD, was charged via criminal complaint in June 2024 and indicted later that same month. 

In September 2024, he pleaded guilty to enticement of a minor. 

He was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk to 30 years in federal prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release. He will also be required to register as a sex offender. 

He is currently being held in the Randall County Jail on a federal hold.

The Case

The backstory:

According to court documents, Perryton ISD’s superintendent reached out to law enforcement in May 2024 to report a possible inappropriate relationship between Underwood and a female student. According to the superintendent, surveillance video allegedly showed Underwood meeting with the girl alone after hours, despite being given a specific directive not to be alone with her.

Agents reviewed the footage and saw Underwood propping an exterior door open and then shutting off the lights. About 15 minutes later, the girl went into the dark building through the propped door and walked into Underwood’s office.

In interviews with law enforcement, the child said Underwood had sex with her in his office more than a dozen times between February and May.

Court documents show Underwood met the student when she was in middle school.

She said that after she added him as a contact on Snapchat, he established a personal friendship with her, and even invited her to his office to confide in him. She said Underwood began messaging her in a flirtatious and sexual manner in December, and eventually used Snapchat to arrange sexual encounters.

A search of the girl’s cell phone revealed multiple late-night conversations – some lasting more than six hours – between her and Underwood, who allegedly occasionally referred to the child as "wifey" and told her he loved her.

Federal court documents show Underwood admitted to having sex with the underage girl at least 10 times in his office at the high school after school hours. 

According to a release from Perryton ISD Superintendent Greg Brown in April 2024, the school received a report on Sunday, April 21, 2024, that an employee may have engaged in improper conduct involving a student. The district initiated an internal investigation. Then on Monday, April 22, 2024, the employee was immediately placed on administrative leave and notified the Ochiltree County Sheriff's Office. Underwood then shortly after resigned and the district said he was no longer associated with the ISD.

Victim Impact Statement

What they're saying:

At Thursday’s sentencing hearing, the student detailed how the situation escalated from the defendant acting as a confidant during a stressful period to isolating her and continually pressuring her for sex:

"I had no idea that he was slowly in the process of grooming me, I genuinely thought that he actually cared about me," she said in a victim impact statement. "I didn't know how to stop it… He convinced me to shut everyone out. I felt like I seriously had no one but him."

"I hope if there is a girl out there who is going through what I have been through, she has the chance to hear my story to know it's okay to speak up. There are people who want to help," she bravely added. "Just because you have one bad chapter does not mean your story is over."