Former school athletic director faces sex charges

Published 4:22 pm Wednesday, April 3, 2019

STATESVILLE — A former school athletic director now faces multiple sex charges in Iredell County and Statesville.

Derone Martin McNeill, 47, of the 100 block of Victoria Drive in Statesville was charged with sexually assaulting a student between 2012 and 2014.

NcNeil is the former athletic director at Statesville Christian School. He has been charged with two counts of felony second-degree forcible rape, two counts of felony second-degree forcible sex offense and three counts of felony sexual activity with a student by school personnel.

An administrator from Statesville Christian School approached the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office with concerns. A detective with the Special Victim’s Unit found the victim and conducted an interview. The victim told detectives she had been sexually assaulted by McNeill multiple times between 2012 and 2014. Based on evidence gathered from the interview, additional crimes occurred in the city limits, and the Statesville Police Department was notified.

Detectives spoke with multiple witnesses to gather information and corroborate the victim’s statement. Arrest warrants were issued March 26.

McNeill was also  charged by Statesville police. In all, he faces over 70 charges. He was taken into custody today and held under $2,000,000 bond.