A former Triton School Corporation teacher and football coach has been arrested for allegedly having an inappropriate relationship with a minor.
Zachary Mitchell Lewis Whitaker, 33, of 99 EMS D22 Lane, Syracuse, is charged with child seduction, a level 6 felony.
He was booked into the Kosciusko County Jail at 8:03 p.m. Wednesday on a $1,250 preliminary bond.
According to the probable cause affidavit, on Nov. 23 an Indiana State Police detective spoke with a minor who said they were in a relationship with Whitaker when he was 30. The detective learned Whitaker was the child’s teacher at one point.
The minor said their relationship started after the minor watched Whitaker’s dog and they started to text each other. The minor and Whitaker met up a few times during a summer, but kept the relationship secret.
The minor said when the school year started, other people made accusations Whitaker’s relationship with the minor was inappropriate, the affidavit stated. Whitaker and the minor both denied their relationship happened. They continued the relationship more secretively. The minor freaked out about their relationship and thought they should not be in a relationship. However, the relationship did not end. In December 2022, the minor dropped Whitaker’s class.
The minor stated their relationship become sexual. Whitaker picked the minor up, drove to his residence and they had sex in the basement. The minor said they had sex five or six times at Whitaker’s house when they were a student, according to court documents.
The minor said they and Whitaker communicated using an application and the minor deleted the communications between them and Whitaker nightly. The minor said they and Whitaker used a “secret code” word to say I love you. They spoke as they passed during school and would use the code. The minor said they broke off the relationship with Whitaker.
In October 2024, Triton School Corporation announced Whitaker’s resignation after an investigation was launched on the relationship between the minor and Whitaker.