Fuquay-Varina, N.C. — A former Wake County girls basketball coach pleaded guilty Monday to sex charges.
Prosecutor Melanie Shekita said Mardy Lee Cutchin, of 1104 Squire Ridge Drive in Fuquay-Varina, had what amounted to a suicide pact with a student to whom he sent thousands of text messages.
"He had indicated he would rather die than go to jail, and she had informed him that she would kill herself," Shekita told the court Monday.
Cutchin's attorney, Bill Young, said his client is married with one child. He coached the Bengals and was a physical education teacher at Fuquay-Varina high school until his arrest last February.
Cutchin was charged with three counts of sexual offense with a student and pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual battery.
He will not serve any jail time, but he will have to register as a sex offender, pay a $200 fine and serve five years on probation.
"It's a sad situation for both families, but we think it's the best thing that could happen," Young said.



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February 24, 2011 7:11 p.m.
February 23, 2011 9:13 a.m.
That is an extremely broad statement. There are in fact many good things that happen through or because of texting, however there are also risks. Your statement would be similar to advising all parents not to let their children on the internet because there are inappropriate sites mixed in with the good ones.
February 22, 2011 3:36 p.m.
February 22, 2011 10:37 a.m.
Paranoid & insecure are you? Just because of some bad apples, you don't have to accuse the whole crop as rotten. Geez.
February 22, 2011 9:19 a.m.