Charges Filed Against Former HS Athletic Trainer

GREENSBORO - Grimsley High's head athletics trainer, who resigned Thursday, faces charges he inappropriately touched a female student.

Jeffrey Allen Guffey, who also was a health teacher at the school, has been charged with two counts of indecent liberties, Greensboro police said Tuesday.

Police spokeswoman Susan Danielsen said police became aware of the allegations March 28 after school administrators contacted them. Detectives from the Family Victims Unit then conducted an investigation.

Guffey was suspended from his duties at Grimsley effective March 28 pending the completion of a human resources investigation, according to Nora Murray, Guilford County Schools program administrator for media relations.

Grimsley Principal Charles Blanchard said in a statement the school is taking the allegations very seriously.

"The safety and wellbeing of our students is Grimsley's top priority," he wrote. "While the allegations are of great concern, it's also important to note that this case is not reflective of the great team of educators and staff at Grimsley High and in Guilford County Schools."

Grimsley officials referred all questions about Guffey to district administration.

Guffey's Facebook page was taken down April 5, and his Twitter account - which was active on the evening of April 4 - has been deleted.

In 2016, Guffey, 40, moved to Grimsley from Southern Guilford High, where he was a science teacher as well as head trainer. While at Southern, he was named the state's Athletics Trainer of the Year for secondary schools in 2015 by the N.C. Athletic Trainers' Association. Guffey also served as the North Carolina trainer for the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas in 2015 and has been a trainer for the Greensboro-based N.C. Coaches Association East-West All-Star games in recent years.

A McLeansville resident and Eastern Guilford High graduate, Guffey previously served as a trainer and taught at Eastern Alamance High in Mebane and has been a volunteer firefighter in McLeansville since 1995.

Guffey has been released from the Guilford County jail on a $5,000 secure bai,l and the investigation is ongoing, Danielsen said.

Police would not name the student, however, the News & Record does not name victims of sexual assault.

Contact Spencer Turkin at (336) 373-7062 and follow @turkin35 on Twitter.Contact Joe Sirera at (336) 373-7034, and follow @JoeSireraNR on Twitter.

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