Dwight Bowling, a former Mississippi and Alabama prep football coach who is now serving a federal prison sentence in Virginia, has been ordered into mediation by federal judges in a case involving several former male students who are now adults.  The mediation will be over a dispute between the former students involving additional molestation claims to be added to Bowling’s already-tainted record. 

According to Bowling’s former students’ claims, the long-standing coach allegedly molested them while they were students at Smithville High School in the Monroe County School District.  Representatives of the coach’s former employers at the school district will also be present in the mediation proceedings.    

Bowling worked as a coach at Smithville High School for 28 years and the events that have precipitated the lawsuit allegedly occurred between 2004 and 2010.  After Bowling’s retirement from the Monroe County School District and Smithville High School, where he was a longtime prep football coach, he went on to coach at Sulligent High in Sulligent, Alabama. 

He was coaching for Sulligent High in September of 2011 when he was arrested in Mississippi on his way home from a game.  According to the arrest reports, there was a 13 year-old boy with Bowling who was returning with the coach from the game.  The boy accused the coach of improper touching during the drive—an accusation that also involved additional issues in crossing state lines with a minor for lewd purposes.      

After the ensuing investigation, it was uncovered that the coach had molested at least four different victims who were all male and all between 13 and 18 years in age.  As a result of the investigation, in 2011, the 58 year-old former coach pleaded guilty to several state and federal charges related to sexual acts with minors.  After entering his plea, the federal court judge in those cases sentenced him to 25 years in prison, while state court judge sentenced him to 35 years in prison.