Ex-coach guilty in stat. rape case

A 31-year-old man who coached girls basketball on the Winnebago Indian Reservation has pleaded guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old girl on his team.

A press release from U.S. Attorney Deborah Gilg says Ma-Na-Pe-Xoo-Nu-Ga Cleveland pleaded guilty to statutory rape last week.
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Cleveland developed a relationship with the girl over time after regularly giving her rides home. Prosecutors say the two had sex in Cleveland’s car in January and in his office in February.

Phone records showed that Cleveland exchanged thousands of text messages with the girl, and DNA evidence confirmed that they had sex.

Cleveland could be sentenced to as much as 15 years in prison when he is sentenced Feb. 8. — AP