Danny Lawhorn Jr., the former coach for the Bria Holmes Elite girls basketball program, is facing multiple accusations that he sexually assaulted teenage girls while they played for his team.
Lawhorn was accused of sexually assaulting a teen basketball player earlier this summer. Now, he’s facing additional state and federal charges involving two other girls in the past four years.
According to the Hartford Courant, both girls were 16 years old at the time and the alleged assaults occurred separately over multiple years.
The alleged assaults happened while Lawhorn coached multiple teams for WNBA player Bria Holmes’ AAU program, which she founded in 2018. Holmes, a former West Virginia standout who has played for four WNBA teams across five seasons, has a child with Lawhorn.
Lawhorn was arrested in June after a 17-year-old international high school student told police he sexually assaulted her inside her bedroom while she was staying at his home in Hartford, Conn. The victims’ accounts suggest a pattern in which Lawhorn controlled the girls’ travel arrangements and forced them to meet his demands or risk jeopardizing their future basketball careers.
In total, the 30-year-old is facing eight second-degree assault charges in connection with all three state cases. On Tuesday, the FBI charged Lawhorn with corresponding child enticement charges. He also faces state and federal narcotics charges after drugs were found in his possession when he was arrested this past summer and fall.
Lawhorn has reportedly been under investigation for sexual assault since September 2020.