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Thursday, February 21, 2008
Estancia Coach Facing Sex Charges
Mountain View Telegraph
Estancia's winning track coach led his teams to success on Bob Bell Field, but now some in the community feel betrayed but what he might have done.
Grey Nevelos, the Estancia High School head coach of boys and girls track and field, and the head coach of boys and girls cross country, was arraigned on four counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor before Judge Steve Jones at the Moriarty Magistrate Court on Friday.
The charges include inappropriate touching, offering alcohol and engaging in graphic conversations with someone under 18 years of age, according to the criminal complaint.
Nevelos was the high school athletic trainer and has coached the Estancia Bears track team since the 1988-89 school year. The Bears won three state track titles during that period.
Nevelos was named the 2006-07 New Mexico High School Coaches Association state boys track and field coach of the year. He was named coach of the year in the 2005-06 season, and male coach of the season in spring 2007 by the Telegraph.
Rumors have floated around Estancia for months and the arraignment Friday confirmed for some that those rumors might have merit.
"For three or four months I have heard people talking," said Barbara Solano, chief bartender at the Blue Ribbon Bar in Estancia. "(Nevelos) used to come in here and read the paper. He sat over there quietly," she nodded toward a table near the kitchen.
"I know a lot of people know something about it and they're afraid to comment," said Colleen Gore, who works at the senior center.
"We're glad that the kids came forward. I'm proud of them," Gore said.
When Nevelos missed the district meet and the state meet Nov. 3, concerns arose in the community. EHS athletics director Mike Draper told the Telegraph at the time that Nevelos was "not feeling well."
Nevelos was placed on administrative Nov. 2 and has not been allowed on campus or to have contact with any students, said Estancia Superintendent Carolyn Allen-Renteria.
Estancia Police Chief Jimmy Chavez said his department became aware of the allegations after notification by officials of the Estancia Municipal School District.
"It began with rumors circulating inside the school with the kids. Then the school launched their own internal investigation. And at a certain point the investigation was given to our department," Chavez said.
During the almost four-month-long investigation by the District Attorney's Office, four girls came forward with charges, said Deputy District Attorney Tim Cornish.
The four girls are the only alleged victims who have come forward, Cornish said.
The school system "took immediate action when the allegation was brought forth," Renteria said.
The school system has not finished its own internal investigation and is working with its attorney to determine Nevelos' job status, Renteria said.
After Nevelos' hearing before Jones on Friday, he stood silently with his head bowed as Torrance County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Kenneth Groves told him to remove his belt, put his hands behind his back and cuffed him.
"The state is not concerned that he'll be a flight risk. But it is concerned that none of the victims or witnesses be subject to any contact," Cornish said.
The state was also concerned that if Nevelos stayed in Torrance County "there might be a danger to him," Cornish said.
Nevelos pleaded not guilty and was booked on a $50,000 cash or surety bond and then taken by deputies to the Torrance County Detention Facility, where he was booked and immediately released on an electronic monitoring or ankle bracelet system.
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