Former Ninnekah girls basketball coach pleads guilty in sexual grooming case
A former girls basketball coach at Ninnekah High School pleaded guilty Thursday in Grady County District Court to 10 felony charges, including sexual battery and lewd or indecent acts against a child under 16.
As part of his plea, Ronald Gene Akins, 56, agreed to be sentenced to a total of 40 years, with 15 years to be served in prison followed by 25 years on probation and registering as a sex offender.
More than 50 people in the courtroom, including victims and their families, looked on as Akins, wearing a blue suit coat and blue jeans, stood and quietly answered when District Judge Kory Kirkland asked him if he understood his crimes, and punishment.
“Yes, sir,” Akins said repeatedly.
More: Former Oklahoma County district judge faces discipline over sex scandal
'Fifteen years ... of waiting for justice'
Grady County Assistant District Attorney Morgan Lankford read aloud a statement from Shelby Boyd, 28, who was a victim of her former coach’s sexual grooming.
Boyd has long maintained that while she was a student in the eighth grade at Friend Public School where Akins once coached, Akins started isolating her and he eventually forced himself on her multiple times.
“It’s been 15 years since Mr. Akins groomed and sexually abused me,” Boyd said in her statement. “Fifteen years of overwhelming shame, guilt, self-blame, anxiety, depression and, most of all, waiting for justice. This crime has left me with deep emotional scars that I will carry with me the rest of my life.
“As a direct result of Mr. Akins’ actions, I have not only struggled with trusting others, but more importantly the ability to trust myself. I have spent years and countless hours in therapy fighting for my life back and undoing all the damage he has inflicted upon me.”
More: Update: Oklahoma City man charged with first-degree murder in mother's shooting death
Lawsuit that also includes superintendent still in federal court
The Oklahoman first reported on the case in August 2021, when a dozen Jane Does filed an explosive federal lawsuit against Ninnekah Public Schools, its former superintendent, the former principal of Ninnekah High School, a former athletics director and a secretary.
The former superintendent, Michael Todd Bunch, is accused in Oklahoma County District Court of rape and domestic assault and battery by strangulation.
The federal lawsuit continues to wind its way through court.
Allegations included the Grady County sheriff’s office not investigating the matter when it first learned of Akins’ behavior in 2015.
Six years later, the sheriff’s office arrested Akins when another former player stepped forward with allegations against him.
The young women, including two more Jane Does for a total of 14 alleged victims in the federal lawsuit, accuse school officials of turning a blind eye to Akins grooming female athletes.
Boyd’s victim impact statement further detailed her trauma.
"By far, the most detrimental part of this experience has been the impact it has had on my faith," Boyd said in her statement. "When it would’ve been most beneficial for me to turn straight to God for comfort, peace, and healing, I ran in the opposite direction. I was lost and so angry that God would allow something like this to happen to me. I felt unloved and unwanted. At my lowest point, I even thought that the world would be better off without me in it."
Tristan Baker is another victim of Akins. She graduated high school in 2021.
Baker read a brief statement from the witness stand Thursday. With Akins seated between his lawyers just a few steps away, Baker said she hopes every day that Akins is in prison, God would “rescue” him and change his life for the good.
When the hearing was complete, Akins stood silently and placed his hands behind his back. A Grady County sheriff’s deputy handcuffed Akins and led him out of the courtroom.
Some in the courtroom wiped away tears. Others hugged one another.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Former Ninnekah High School coach pleads guilty to sexual abuse
