In Mount Pleasant yesterday, District Judge Roger Eckels held all of the charges against 23-year-old Ty Holler for trial. The former volunteer IUP football coach is charged with two counts each of unlawful contact with a minor, hiring or permitting a minor to assist in producing or distributing sexual materials, and corruption of minors. He’s accused of sending sexually-charged texts to two Mount Pleasant High School football players in 2014 and 2015 and asking for similarly-sexual texts in return.
At the hearing yesterday, a state police trooper testified that Holler told a different version of the incidents than the case they outlined against him. Investigators contend that he texted the boys, ages 15 and 16 at the time, about his sex life at IUP and asked for details about their sex lives. He also sent them pictures of a topless woman who he told them wanted to start a relationship with them if they would reply with explicit pictures of themselves, including one of body fluids.
Holler claims a former girlfriend sent the texts while he was sleeping, although he could identify her only as “Alexis” and had no contact information for her. He also told police that he, Alexis, and the older boy met at a bar near IUP, which police could not confirm; and that the boy sent him an unsolicited nude photo and a video of himself having sexual relations, but the boy testified that he only sent a picture of himself fully clothed.
Holler’s attorney told the judge the charges should be dismissed based on technical interpretations of the law. The judge instead forwarded the charges to court. A formal arraignment is scheduled for June 21st.
