A former girls basketball coach at Terry Sanford High School was arrested Tuesday, Jan. 10 on charges of taking indecent liberties with a student, according to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.

Thurston Jackie Robinson, 60, is charged with nine counts of sexual battery and six counts of taking indecent liberties with a student, according to a news release from the Sheriff’s Office.

Robinson is being held at the Cumberland County Detention Center under an $18,000 secured bond, the release said. His first appearance in court is set for 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 11 at the Detention Center.

More charges may be forthcoming, the release said.

According to a Cumberland County Schools spokesman, Robinson's coaching contract with the district has expired.
He was the varsity girls coach from May 4, 2020, to Aug. 1, 2022. He also was a volunteer coach at E.E. Smith High School from 2019 to 2020.

“We take this situation very seriously,” school district spokesman Lindsay Whitley said in an email Tuesday. “The safety and well-being of our students are always top priorities. Mr. Robinson’s status as a non-faculty coach was not renewed for the 2022-23 school year. When allegations of inappropriate conduct were brought to our attention, we suspended discussions about renewing Mr. Robinson’s contract while law enforcement investigated.”

According to Whitley, Robinson had no other duties at Terry Sanford High.

An interim coach, Roger “Dale” Paschall, is now leading the Terry Sanford girls team.
Whitley said in his email that Cumberland County Schools routinely conducts extensive background checks on non-faculty coaches.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Detective Sgt. J. Mcleod at 910-677-5548 or CrimeStoppers at 910-483-TIPS (8477) or http://fay-nccrimestoppers.org.