The wife of a former high school football coach says she had sex with one of his players because he wanted it.
Kelsey McCarter, 29, wants a Tennessee court to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the student, a 14-year-old boy, who alleges that she molested him after she and her husband invited him into his home.
McCarter and the boy repeatedly had sex while he was living with her and her husband.
McCarter is named in the lawsuit as a defendant, as is her husband, Justin McCarter, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel.
The lawsuit, which also names the Knox County School Board, was filed earlier this year. It alleges that when the boy was 14 years old, Kelsey McCarter began abusing him starting in July 2014.
The lawsuit alleges that the abuse continued until January 2016. The relationship ended when an 'inappropriate' picture of Kelsey McCarter began to circulate among students on social media.
Justin McCarter was the boy's football coach at South-Doyle High School in Knoxville, Tennesee.
Kelsey McCarter is currently serving a three-year prison term after she pleaded guilty to seven counts, including six counts of statutory rape, in Knox Criminal Court last year.
Her lawyer, Doug Trant, says the lawsuit should be thrown out because his client is no rapist.
'(The boy) claims that he suffered injury from the repeated "sexual abuse" by Ms. McCarter,' Trant wrote in a motion.
'However, the complaint is replete with factual allegations allowing the conclusion that (he) was a willing participant in numerous sexual encounters with Ms. McCarter.'
According to court records, the McCarters received permission from the boy's mother to allow him and his older brother to move in with them in July 2014.
The coach, Justin McCarter, took the boys into his home to mentor them after they were 'experiencing domestic issues' with their single mother, according to the lawsuit.
Court records allege that Kelsey McCarter 'lured' the 14-year-old boy into a sexual relationship without her husband's knowledge.
Kelsey McCarter. Photo / News Corp Australia
In August 2015, the McCarters began experiencing tension in their marriage unrelated to Kelsey McCarter's infidelity, according to the former coach's lawyer.
At this point, the boys were told to leave the home. Justin McCarter's lawyer, Julia Anna Trant, says her client had no idea his wife was having sex with one of the boys.
After the boys moved out, Kelsey McCarter continued having intimate relations with the 14-year-old, according to court documents.
In October 2015, as the relationship continued, Kelsey McCarter asked her husband to allow the boy to move back into their home. The husband agreed, court records show.
'By (the boy's) own admission in the complaint, he continued to "submit" to the sexual contacts with Ms. McCarter because he wanted to return to live with the McCarters,' Doug Trant wrote.
'By his own admission in the complaint (the boy) desired and maintained the sexual relationship with Ms. McCarter in order to derive a personal benefit - initially to extend his stay at the McCarters' residence and then to ensure his return therein.
'It was reasonable for Ms. McCarter to believe that (the boy) desired to be involved sexually with her and that he willingly participated in their sexual relationship.'
Justin McCarter's lawyer, Julia Trant, also argued for the lawsuit's dismissal. She says the former coach tried to help the boy by taking him in.
'Plaintiff's complaint represents a profound example of the well-known proverb "no good deed goes unpunished",' she wrote.
The school is named in the lawsuit because the boy alleges that officials did not alert authorities in time.
But the school says Kelsey McCarter wasn't an employee.
The school principal, Tim Berry, was suspended for two weeks without pay.
Assistant Principal Clark Duncan was also suspended without pay for three days. Both men were punished for not reporting allegations of child sexual abuse to the authorities.
