A Canyon County grand jury indicted coach Kip Crofts on felony child sex abuse charges tied to his time at Caldwell High, with court docs detailing the case.
A Canyon County grand jury indicted coach Kip Crofts on felony child sex abuse charges tied to his time at Caldwell High, with court docs detailing the case.
Kip Crofts accused of masturbating in front of 14-year-old while employed at Caldwell High School
A Canyon County grand jury has indicted longtime Idaho high school football coach Kip Erik Crofts on felony charges of sexual abuse of a child under 16, with court documents revealing disturbing specifics about the alleged crime that occurred while he was employed as a teacher and coach at Caldwell High School.
According to the indictment obtained from Canyon County Courthouse, the 59-year-old Crofts is accused of masturbating in front of a 14-year-old student in mid-December 2024. The incident allegedly occurred while Crofts was serving as both a physical education teacher and head football coach at Caldwell High School.
The grand jury issued the indictment on Friday, June 21st, leading to Crofts’ arrest on the following Wednesday when he arrived at his current job as a custodian with the City of Nampa. He was released from Canyon County Jail on June 27 by court order and faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted. His next hearing is scheduled for July 7 at 11:15 a.m.
As news of the indictment spread, disturbing accounts from former students and community members began surfacing on social media, suggesting this may not have been an isolated incident across Crofts’ 32-year coaching career.
The most significant public challenge to Crofts’ conduct came in March 2021, when approximately 30 students at Payette High School staged a dramatic walkout protest that forced the school into lockdown. The demonstration marked a rare moment when students collectively rejected the adult authority structure they felt had failed them.
At the time, Superintendent Robin Gilbert downplayed the protest, telling media that students were protesting “a number of different things” without providing specifics. The school was placed on lockdown “to protect the educational environment for those students staying inside,” according to Gilbert.
But witnesses to the protest now reveal the specific incident that ignited student outrage and led to what may have been one of the most significant student demonstrations in the small Idaho town’s history.
According to multiple eyewitness accounts, the protest was triggered by Crofts physically assaulting a student in a hallway confrontation. “We literally did a protest back in 2021 at payette high school because he pinned a student to the wall by his shoulders,” wrote one former student who witnessed the incident. “I literally watched it happen and it was all because we were going to be late to class and he wouldn’t open the doors for us to get in.”
The incident reportedly occurred when students were attempting to get to class but found doors locked or blocked. When students expressed frustration about being late, Crofts allegedly responded by physically restraining a student against a wall.
What happened next exemplifies the institutional failures that would later allow Crofts to continue working with children. Rather than investigating the coach’s conduct, school administrators allegedly targeted the students who reported the incident.
“The only thing that was done was the student being expelled,” the witness continued. “I believe another kid who was out there with us yelled at him while he was doing it and that kid also got expelled.”
The response sent a clear message to the student body: reporting a coach’s inappropriate conduct could result in punishment for the reporter, while the coach faced no consequences.
Faced with an administration that appeared to prioritize protecting a successful football coach over student safety, approximately 30 students made the extraordinary decision to stage a public walkout. The protest effectively shut down normal school operations, forcing administrators to acknowledge the situation publicly.
“Nobody listened then and he was protected because he was the head football coach,” the witness explained, highlighting what students saw as a double standard where athletic success trumped student welfare.
The protest represented a remarkable act of courage by teenagers who recognized that traditional reporting channels had failed and that only public pressure might force accountability.
Despite the dramatic nature of the protest and the clear message from students, the incident was effectively buried. Superintendent Gilbert’s vague public statements about students protesting “a number of different things” obscured the specific allegations against Crofts.
The witness who spoke out years later expressed both pride and frustration about the protest: “I’m even more proud I was part of that protest now,” they wrote, suggesting that time has vindicated the students’ decision to take a public stand.
The 2021 protest now appears to have been a crucial missed warning sign. Students had essentially conducted their own investigation, witnessed alleged physical assault, and taken extraordinary measures to bring attention to the problem. Yet the institutional response was to silence the accusers rather than investigate the accused.
Had administrators taken the students’ concerns seriously and conducted a proper investigation in 2021, it might have prevented the alleged December 2024 incident that led to criminal charges. Instead, Crofts was allowed to continue his career, eventually moving to Caldwell High School where he allegedly committed the acts that resulted in his indictment.
Even more disturbing allegations have emerged from Crofts’ earlier tenure at Payette. A former student, who was 14 at the time, shared her experience of reporting inappropriate conduct:
“I would like to mention that my freshman year of high school, this man reached down and touched my butt while asking ‘what’s the score?’ of the game I was keeping score for in P.E.,” the former student wrote. “I gave a report and the detective told me (on recording) ‘I’ve known Crofts for a long time and that’s just the kind of guy he is. He touches people just out of being friendly. So I’m sure this was an accident.’ Crofts is about 6’3 or so and I am 5’2. There is absolutely no way that was an accident.”
She continued: “I walked out of that investigation crying – from being gaslit into thinking I was wrong and that he was innocent. I hope that the detective from that investigation sees this and knows he messed up. I was 14.”
The concerning pattern allegedly continued at Caldwell High School, where parents and students reportedly raised multiple red flags about Crofts’ behavior that were not adequately addressed.
“I guess he got accused a couple times of watching porn during class at Caldwell High in the last few years. Nothing ever happened… that I know of. My daughter had him for Spanish,” one parent commented.
Perhaps most alarming, another individual reported directly to school administration: “I reported him to the caldwell high administration for googling ‘is it okay for a teacher to kiss a student’ and a few similar things, but they didn’t do anything about it. It’s fucking disgusting that they kept letting him teach.”
Crofts built an impressive coaching resume over more than three decades in Idaho high school football:
Ironically, in 2022, Crofts received the regional Double Coach Award from the Positive Coaching Alliance, recognizing coaches who focus not only on game results but also on developing youth for future success in life.
The accounts emerging from former students and parents paint a troubling picture of institutional failures across multiple school districts. Allegations suggest a pattern where:
The 2021 protest at Payette High School appears to have been a pivotal moment where students took matters into their own hands when they felt the system had failed them.
At the time of his arrest, Crofts was working as a custodian for the City of Nampa, having been hired in April 2025. City officials stated they were unaware of the ongoing investigation due to its confidential nature, and Crofts had no disqualifying convictions on his background check at the time of hiring.
This raises questions about information sharing between law enforcement agencies and employers, particularly when individuals with access to minors move between positions during active investigations.
Nampa Police have expressed concern that there may be additional victims and are urging anyone with information about possible crimes involving Crofts to contact the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over where an alleged incident occurred.
The emergence of multiple social media accounts detailing alleged incidents across different schools and time periods suggests law enforcement’s concerns may be well-founded.
The allegations have sent shockwaves through multiple Idaho communities where Crofts coached and taught. Parents, former students, and community members are grappling with the revelation that someone they trusted with their children’s development and safety now faces serious criminal charges.
The case also highlights broader questions about:
Crofts is scheduled to appear in court on July 7 before 3rd District Judge Gene Petty. He has indicated he plans to hire a private attorney.
The investigation remains active, with police continuing to encourage anyone with additional information to come forward.
As this case develops, it serves as a stark reminder of the importance of believing and thoroughly investigating student reports, regardless of the accused individual’s status or contributions to a school’s athletic program.
This is a developing story. If you have information related to this case, please contact your local law enforcement agency.
