Former Prince George's County track coach sentenced to 21 years for rape, child pornography
PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. - A former track coach was sentenced to 21 years in prison in an Upper Marlboro courtroom Wednesday for second-degree rape, child pornography, and other sexual offenses.
According to the State’s Attorney’s Office for Prince George’s County Warren Gray, 34, of Waldorf met and began grooming the victim in 2017 when he was a track coach with the New Wave Track Club. A spokesperson for Prince George's County Public Schools confirmed Wednesday that Gray was a temporary employee within their school district between 2018 and 2020.
The victim was 13 years old at the time and the sexual acts would continue for another four years, after the victim had left New Wave.
According to a press release from the State’s Attorney’s Office, "the assault was discovered when the victim’s mother was helping her with a school project, and while using her daughter’s laptop, discovered videos of the victim and Gray involved in sexual acts."
"The crimes that occurred here were amongst the most horrific that we have seen in our county facing our young people. We know our young people are our people. They are vulnerable. They’re special to us. Some out there want to take advantage of them who prey upon them," State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy said. "In this case, they took part of our victim’s past. What I shared with our victim and really now, she’s our survivor and her mother is that Mr. Gray will not steal her future. He will not steal her future."
During the pre-sentence investigation, Gray reportedly argued that he did not know the victim was 13 but instead thought she was a fellow New Wave Track Club coach. He later pleaded guilty to second-degree rape, two sex offense charges and two child pornography charges on July 24, 2023.
"This is a case where it highlights how victims can be groomed by people the community may think are trusted members of the community. Instead, the defendant decided to use that trust was put in him to sexually abuse a child," prosecutor Ashley Elias said.
The victim and her mother were at the sentencing hearing Wednesday. While they asked to not show their faces or have their names shared, they spoke with reporters after the hearing.
"Today was hard. Probably one of the hardest days of my life. I want to thank my mother for having my back. This was probably one of the hardest things ever," the victim said.
Her mother added, they were grateful for the support.
"We have been waiting for this day for years. We just never thought it would come but hopefully, now we have closure, peace of mind," she said. "Well, we work on peace of mind. Just moving forward."
FOX 5 reached out to Gray’s attorney for a comment on the sentencing, but we have not heard back at this time.