Navarro College Cheer Volunteer Arrested

**UPDATE: Andre McGee has been acquitted of all charges.**

Former FISD Substitute Faces Indictment for Sexual Assault

“We were not aware of the charges or arrest at the time he [Andre McGee] was substituting for the school district,” explains Fairfield ISD Interim Superintendent Tony Price. “If we had had any idea at all, he would never have been hired to work with our kids. As soon as we were notified, he was immediately removed from our list of substitutes.”

This statement was made in response to recent television news coverage that McGee, a 40-year-old Fairfield resident and Fairfield High School alum, was arrested and indicted for sexual abuse of a male cheerleader at Navarro College.

According to reports, the student enrolled at Navarro College, known for its award-winning cheer program, in 2015.

He, and his family, met McGee the very first day. “Everybody said, ‘Oh you’re one of the new cheerleaders. Andre takes great care of you boys,” said the cheerleader’s mother.

Online, McGee called himself the “assistant cheer coach and number 1 recruiter” at Navarro College. His Twitter profile proudly proclaimed he was “best friends with” and “right hand” to head coach Monica Aldama.

However, according to a statement by Navarro College, McGee was never an employee. It was the school’s understanding that he merely volunteered with the Navarro cheer team.

The alleged victim claims McGee had hundreds of nude photographs of the cheerleaders and would force the rookies to “drink and/or consume drugs,” calling it “big girl games.”

According to court documents, in October 2015, McGee is alleged to have forced the victim to take Xanax. The alleged victim says he later “awoke to McGee sodomizing him.” He says he stayed quiet about the alleged assault because he still dreamed of winning a championship. But three months later he contacted police.

The police report shows a second cheerleader making similar claims, and attorneys for the first cheerleader believe others will come forward. “We have spoken to other victims in this case,” says attorney Lacey Turley Most.

The cheerleader says he also reported the assault to Navarro College and Coach Aldama. That’s when he says he learned McGee did not actually work for the school but was only a volunteer.

“We were totally under the impression that he was the assistant coach,” said the cheerleader’s mother.

A Navarro College spokesperson said that once the school learned of the allegation, the college notified McGee that he could no longer volunteer with the cheer program.

Coach Aldama states the cheerleader never made any complaints to her about McGee while he was a student. “I have never, and would never, tolerate sexual harassment or sexual abuse in the Navarro College cheer program. I would not remain silent if I were aware that any sexual misconduct was occurring in the cheer program.”

Navarro County indicted McGee on a felony charge of sexual assault in March 2017, but for the next ten months the case stalled.

The cheerleader’s mother says, “It has taken way too long. He feels like he’s less important because he’s a boy.”

When District Attorney Lowell Thompson was asked why McGee’s court hearings had been cancelled, his response was that they were awaiting McGee’s release from Freestone County jail on another charge.

However, the only record of McGee ever being behind bars in Freestone County is while he was detained for transfer to Navarro County at the end of November 2017.

McGee was found working as a substitute teacher at Fairfield ISD. Two days after this information was relayed to DA Thompson, police arrested McGee. Thompson later stated that he had been given “bad information” about McGee’s whereabouts.

McGee made his first court appearance in December 2017. He, his mother and his pastor each took the stand. His mother told the judge McGee had “been around kids his whole life,” while his pastor explained that McGee “works with the choir and Sunday school classes.”

All denied the allegations.

The cheerleader’s mother says that her son is still dealing with the fallout of the alleged assault.

A civil lawsuit has been filed against Navarro College, as well as against Andre McGee. The cheerleader says the suit is about helping others. “I just don’t want it to happen to anyone else.”

Michael J. Crawford, defense attorney for McGee, says the cheerleader is retaliating against McGee after being caught on campus with marijuana.

“This case was brought up in retribution against Mr. McGee,” explains Crawford. “I think he believes McGee turned him in.”

The cheerleader’s family says that it has nothing to do with the sexual assault claims.

“The second alleged victim recanted and has admitted voluntarily the family of the initial accuser paid him to lie and join the accusation against Andre McGee,” says Crawford. “The criminal case is necessary for the accuser to have success in civil court. Money and revenge is the driving force for the accuser, not justice.”

As of Friday, February 2, 2018, there are no future court dates set for McGee. His hearing in December was to “lower his bond to a reasonable amount.” It was reduced to $36,000.

McGee has bonded out and is awaiting his next day in court.