At a Glance

¯ Crystal Burke, 41, was indicted on eight counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, and one count of rape.

¯ The rape charge is a first-degree felony, and the other eight are all third-degree felonies.

¯ She faces a maximum of 35 years in prison.

¯ Prosecutors say there were four victims, all around 14 years of age.

Source: Washington County Prosecutor’s Office.

Former Marietta Middle School coach Crystal Burke was indicted this week by the Washington County Grand Jury on one count of rape and eight counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.

Burke, 41, of 6625 State Route 60, Lowell, was initially arrested on six counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, all third-degree felonies.

“A concerned parent contacted (Marietta) High School, and then the high school contacted the Marietta Police Department,” said Washington County Prosecutor Nicole Coil. “It was learned that her residence put her outside of city limits, so they then contacted the (Washington County) Sheriff’s Office, because there were allegations regarding incidents at her residence.”

Coil said the sheriff’s office has been continuing the investigation, reaching out to parents of students who might have had contact with Burke, or might have information about the offenses.

Through the investigation, they have one new victim, but three new incidents, she said.

Burke allegedly confessed to the six incidents leading to her arrest, but she has not yet been questioned about the additional counts.

According to the sheriff’s office, Burke confessed to having sexual relations with several teenage boys at 103 Woodcrest Lane, Marietta; a home which is located off of Ohio 26; and in other locations in Washington County.

Coil said the incidents were from the beginning of July to the end of October 2020, which is after Burke’s coaching contract had expired.

She added Burke had given the 14-year-old boys alcohol.

“With the unlawful sexual conduct (charges), it doesn’t matter if there was alcohol involved,” she explained. “I think in almost all of the counts and all of the incidents there, there was alcohol involved.”

The first-degree felony rape is because “there’s one juvenile who she provided alcohol to that stated he had resisted. He was not in any way a willing participant,” noted Coil.

Unlawful sexual conduct with a minor is normally a fourth-degree felony, but with more than 10 years age difference between Burke and the victims, they were bumped to a third-degree felony.

Once a defendant is indicted by the grand jury, they are assigned a judge and are arraigned on the charges, said Assistant Prosecutor Joe Derkin.

During the arraignment, bond and court dates are set.

There are a series of pre-trials and discovery dates where a case is built. If the defending attorney and prosecuting do not reach a plea agreement, the case goes to a jury trial.

If they do reach a plea agreement, the defendant appears before the common pleas judge to plead guilty to charge.

Derkin said the defendant could either be sentenced that day or a sentencing date is set for a later time.

Arraignments are set for May 6 and 7.

There were 17 true billed defendants with 39 counts in this session of the grand jury. See Saturday’s edition of the Marietta Times for the full list of indictments.

Michele Newbanks can be reached at mnewbanks@mariettatimes.com.