California football coach arrested after students make disturbing discovery at school

A high school football coach in California was arrested Friday after students discovered a cellphone secretly recording them while they were changing inside a campus locker room, police said.

The phone belonged to Jeffrey Pribble, a 48-year-old teacher at Tracy High School, located east of San Francisco, the Tracy Police Department said Saturday.

According to the school's website and social media accounts, Pribble is the varsity football head coach and works in the school's physical education program.

Pribble has held the coaching position for five years and has 22 years of experience as an educator with the district, according to his Facebook page.

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FILE — People walk into Tracy High School in Tracy, California, where football coach Jeffrey Pribble was arrested Friday. (Google Maps)

The discovery was made Thursday when a student and several classmates found the phone recording inside the locker room, officials said.

The students stopped the recording, deleted the video and turned the device over to a teacher.

By Thursday evening, a concerned parent then contacted Tracy police patrol officers, prompting school resource officers and detectives to open an investigation.

The following day, officers determined that the phone belonged to Pribble, who was arrested Friday.

The Tracy Unified School District placed Pribble on leave pending the outcome of separate criminal and district investigations, officials said.

According to the Pleasanton Weekly, Tracy High Principal Jon Waggle acknowledged the arrest of an employee in an email to parents.

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FILE — Jeffrey Pribble served as Tracy High School’s varsity football coach for five years and worked in the district for 22 years, according to his Facebook page.  (Google Maps)

The school did not identify the teacher or the specific allegations but noted that the district was fully cooperating with police.

"We understand that this news may raise serious concerns in the District community. The District too is concerned about the well-being of its students and staff and is committed to holding its employees to the highest professional and ethical standards," Waggle wrote.

"Tracy High School and all our Tracy Unified schools are proud of being safe schools. The cooperation between students, parents and staff members keeps our schools safe and is important and appreciated. Thank you for your continued partnership and support."

Tracy Police Chief Sekou Millington added that the safety and privacy of the city's students remain among the department's top priorities.

"Our children deserve to feel safe at school and in every space where they should be able to learn, grow, and simply be kids," Millington said.

FILE — The Tracy Unified School District said Pribble will remain on leave while authorities continue investigating.  (iStock)

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"Protecting the safety, privacy, and well-being of our students is a responsibility we take seriously. We are grateful to the students who brought this incident to the attention of adults and to the officers and detectives who acted quickly to investigate."

Fox News Digital reached out to Tracy High School for more information.

Bonny Chu is a Breaking and Trending News Writer for Fox News Digital