Teacher accused of child sex crimes when he coached basketball 20 years ago, cops say

A former high school basketball coach who went on to coach women’s basketball at several colleges has been accused of child sex crimes.

George Porcha, 52, of North Carolina, was arrested on charges related to inappropriate sex acts with children from more than 20 years ago, according to a Jan. 23 Arlington County Police Department news release.

An investigation into the Winterville resident’s past began in October 2022 when Arlington police were notified of “possible offenses involving minors” between 2000 and 2003, according to the department. At the time, Porcha worked as a girls basketball coach at Washington-Liberty High School, formerly known as Washington-Lee High School, police said.

Officers issued warrants more than a year later, in January 2024, for charges involving two female victims who were students at the time, police said.

Porcha was charged with carnal knowledge of a minor and taking indecent liberties with children.

Porcha is an “exceptional children” teacher at Ayden Middle School, Pitt County Schools spokesperson Tom McClellan told McClatchy News in an email. The school system is not aware of his involvement in any extracurriculars, including athletics, he said.

He has been suspended without pay, McClellan said.

Before his time as a middle school teacher, Porcha had built up a longtime career — over 25 years — as a basketball coach at both the high school and college level.

His longest coaching stay was at Washington-Liberty High School, where the child sex crimes were said to have occurred. He served as assistant varsity coach from 1995 to 1999, and then moved into his role as the head coach for the varsity girls basketball team at the school until 2004, according to his coaching profile at Boston College.

The girls basketball team competed in the regional playoffs each year while he was head coach, and he was named the 2001 National District Coach of the Year, his profile said.

Porcha moved to another high school — Alexandria City High School, formerly known as T.C. Williams High School — to become the girls basketball head coach for three years, according to his profile. In his second-to-last year coaching at the school, the team moved on to compete in the Virginia State Elite Eight tournament.

He then became an assistant coach at Virginia Tech in his first job in college basketball, according to his profile. After a year, he worked at West Virginia University as an associate head coach for five years — four of which resulted in the women’s team appearing in the NCAA tournament.

WVU declined McClatchy News’ request for a statement on Porcha’s charges, adding the university doesn’t comment on personnel.

For a brief two-year period after his time at WVU, Porcha worked as the head coach for the Woodbridge Senior High School boys basketball team in Lake Ridge, Virginia, his profile said.

Porcha made his return to college basketball in 2016 when he joined the Ole Miss women’s basketball team as an assistant coach working with point guards, according to his profile. He stayed with the school for two seasons.

Ole Miss did not immediately return McClatchy News’ request for comment.

His last stint in college basketball was at Boston College, according to the school’s bio page. He was an assistant coach for the team from 2018 to 2021, Boston College women’s basketball spokesperson Chase Colliton told McClatchy News in an email.

There were no issues of inappropriate conduct brought to the college’s attention during Porcha’s tenure, Colliton said.

The Arlington County Police Department is seeking information from possible victims as they continue the active investigation. Anyone with further details can contact Detective P. Pena at 703-228-4183 or ppena@arlingtonva.us.

Ayden is about 90 miles southeast of Raleigh.

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