Troy Rider

Troy Rider, former Knoxville High School PE teacher and football coach, has been charged with two counts of 3rd degree sexual abuse and sexual exploitation by a school employee, and last month, his attorney filed a request for a gag order. This week, Marion County Attorney Ed Bull has filed a resistance to that request. The court document includes these reasons: that the State is aware of no statements made by any potential witnesses that break any of the Iowa Rules of Professional Conduct; the Defendant’s request is premature, as neither trial information nor minutes of testimony have been filed; and, the statements the Defense complains about were not only made in response to media requests triggering the statutory duty to disclose, they include a disclosure which states “The Knoxville Police Department want to remind everyone that a criminal charge is merely an accusation and a person charged with a criminal offense is innocent until proven guilty.”