Former Fresno Unified coach faces felony sex charges involving minor

Timothy Lemmons Jr., 29, a former substitute teacher and football coach at McLane High School, is facing four felony counts in a Fresno County case that includes allegations he had sex with a girl under 18. Prosecutors say the alleged crimes took place in February, placing the case squarely inside a school setting where Lemmons had direct access to students and was entrusted with adult supervision and clear boundaries.

Fresno Unified said the allegations first surfaced in March and that Lemmons was immediately blocked from taking any further substitute assignments once officials were informed. The district later said he was fired on April 10. That timeline matters: it shows the district acted after the allegations were reported, but it also raises hard questions about how long Lemmons had been working around students before the complaint reached administrators. ABC30 reported that he had worked at McLane since August of the prior year.

The case has sharpened scrutiny on the safeguards schools use to screen, monitor and report adults who work with children. Fresno Unified’s Title IX materials say sexual assault is included under sex-based harassment and spell out complaint procedures for those allegations. For families, that means concerns about unwanted conduct, boundary violations or sexual misconduct should be raised through district reporting channels and documented as soon as possible so school officials can act and preserve records.

The allegations also land against a backdrop of earlier Fresno Unified misconduct cases involving substitutes. In May 2025, authorities arrested substitute Carlos Gonzalez in a separate case after alleging he tried to contact a child for sex, and investigators said they were concerned there could be more victims. Together, the cases are likely to intensify pressure on Fresno Unified and local law enforcement to explain how warning signs are handled, how substitute staff are screened and how quickly schools move when a report involves student safety.

For Fresno families, the central issue is not only the criminal case now unfolding but whether the systems meant to protect children can catch abuse early enough. Lemmons’ case will test both the courtroom and the district’s ability to show that student trust is more than a policy statement.