ALHS counselor, girls basketball coach accused of sexual conduct, placed on administrative leave

(ABC 6 News) – A high school counselor and head girls basketball coach at Albert Lea High School has been arrested and is accused of criminal sexual conduct.

The Albert Lea Police Department said Richard John Polley was arrested Thursday. According to a criminal complaint he had sexual intercourse with a student earlier this month.

According to the criminal complaint, the girl spoke with Polley as her counselor and the two became friends on Snapchat.

The student said Polley told her "he didn’t think it was a great idea to have her on Snapchat but didn’t delete her," the complaint reads.

On January 8, the complaint states the student went to Polley’s house two times, once around 10:00 p.m. and then again about an hour later. The complaint said Polley was asleep the second time the student went to his house and she had woken him up. It was during this visit the two allegedly had intercourse.

According to Albert Lea Area Schools, Polley has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation. He is a counselor at the high school and the girl’s varsity basketball coach.