ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI) – Ian Mackie most recently coached in the Kirkwood area. Mackie currently faces 18 criminal sex charges including enticement of a child and statutory sodomy.
Mackie got the recent coaching job despite a sexual assault allegation by a teenager back in 2010. FOX 2 uncovered a 50 page Michigan police report, publicly available to anyone who asks for it. It names Ian Mackie, who wasn’t charged, but it has parents asking why the document wasn’t enough to keep him away from kids.
Mackie has been around roller hockey for years, coaching in the early 2000’s at Queenie Park, Lindenwood, Desmet, Parkway South and with the roller hockey leagues NARCH from 2007-2009 and TORHS in 2010.
It was during a TORHS hockey tournament in 2010 when police in Michigan investigated Mackie. Yet the 50 page police report did not keep Mackie from later passing a background check with the Missouri Hockey Association. He got a job coaching ice hockey last year for the Kirkwood Youth Hockey Association.
The hockey clubs aren’t talking, so we reached out to former sex crimes prosecutor, now working in private practice, Gonzalo Fernandez. He said he was, “…surprised and disappointed, this is kind of a head scratcher for everyone.”
Fernandez said the police report may not have appeared in a background check. He added, “It’s all too easy to pass that type of background check, because he doesn’t have a conviction.”
Prosecutors did not charge Mackie after the 2010 report. The investigation was in Shelby Township, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. A 17-year-old roller hockey player went to police about coach Mackie, who at the time was traveling with TORHS Hockey.
The police report lists text messages from the teen, including, “dude, ima have to go to the police” and “u malested me.”
The police report shows answers from Mackie including “my life is over,” “you are my friend” and “this will kill me.”
Mackie described it to police as a “hook up… no big deal” and that “he was not pressuring” the 17-year-old High School Jr.”
Mackie no longer coached for TORHS after the report, which says he was not charged partly because of “inconsistent statements” from the victim.
Back in St. Louis, it’s unclear how local teams would’ve found out about the police report.
Attorney Fernandez said, “I can tell you that all too often, that when an employer calls an old employer as a reference, they get this kind of pat answer that their lawyers have told them to give. They will verify that that person worked there from this date to that date and that`s it.”
I asked, “Do you think that companies need to take on more of a moral obligation though?”
They’re going to be more concerned about protecting themselves.”
We could get no response from the hired company that did the background check for the Missouri Hockey Association. TORHS also did not respond.
In the current cases against Mackie, police don`t say how he met his accusers or whether it was through coaching. They’re all minors, whose identities are being protected.
Police say Mackie used the social media site Snapchat frequently, which makes it nearly impossible for police to gather evidence and also for parents to monitor what their kids. That’s because the pictures, videos and communications disappear in seconds.
Contact Gonzalo Fernandez through www.stltriallawyers.com
Follow Fox 2’s Chris Hayes on Twitter @ChrisHayesTV
