A former Malakoff ISD teacher and coach who resigned in October 2015 amid allegations he had “improper communications” with a female high school student reached out to the Athens Daily Review this week to issue a statement.
Cook was a middle school teacher and coach when he resigned.
In a story by Rich Flowers, Cook is quoted as saying, “In this situation, I was led to believe the young lady was 27 from her Facebook profile and from a different, nearby town. I was not aware of her actual age or her status as a part-time student at Malakoff ISD when conversation was initiated. I later discovered that she was 18.”
Cook said he never met the student face-to-face and there was no physical contact.
There was no explanation of why Cook is issuing a statement now, nearly three months after the incident.