Clearwater, Florida -- 10 News has found more disturbing allegations against a high school wrestling coach.
Scott Stern is accused of forcing Clearwater Catholic High wrestlers to strip naked.
He's faced similar allegations in the '90s at Pinellas Park High, but the Diocese of St. Petersburg still hired him. The Diocese claims his past problems slipped through the cracks.
The Diocese insists it did state and federal background checks when it hired Stern 12 years ago. Since he wasn't charged in the '90s, his criminal record looked clear.
10 News has learned that wasn't the case, when it comes to his school district disciplinary record.
"I wish it was caught," says Clearwater Catholic High student David Warner.
Warner believes the Diocese and school did not do enough to protect his fellow classmates from Stern.
The coach is accused of forcing two wrestlers to separately get naked. Stern's accused of slapping one teen on the bare butt and grabbing the other's private parts.
In 1999, a Pinellas Park wrestler accused the coach of making him strip and hold a ruler over his head.
Parents and students can't believe Stern has been allowed to continue to work around children for the past dozen years.
"It was crazy how they hired him here after he was doing that at other schools it's really ridiculous," says student Angelina Floros.
"There's not enough integrity, and there's not enough people who want to take responsibility and just say 'no' when they know there's a red flag," says mother Marlene Floros.
Records show in 1999, the state attorney's office decided there wasn't enough evidence to charge Stern with child abuse.
The Diocese tells 10 News that because Stern didn't have a criminal record, he passed background checks with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and FBI.
"We do all the screening we can and check all the references sometimes it just doesn't get caught," says Frank Murphy from the Diocese of St. Petersburg. Adding that the Diocese did all it could to protect students.
With a call to Stern's former employer, the Pinellas County School District, 10 News uncovered more problems in his past: Four years after the wrestler's allegations surfaced, Stern resigned in 2003, while under investigation by the Department of Health.
The district says he was accused of treating players for ringworm and cauliflower ear without a medical license.
"This is not something we were aware of or had any questions about. We take immediate action. This was just under the radar screen, and we did not see it," says Murphy.
Stern is out of jail on bond and has resigned from his coaching position.
This is Stern's disciplinary history from the Pinellas County School District:
1. September 2003 - Resigned while under investigation. The investigation was regarding allegations that in 1998 and 1999 he may have been conducting medical procedures without a license. The Department of Health was involved with that investigation and referred the case to the SAO for review. The allegations were that he treated one player for ringworm with samples of a prescription cream and treated another player for "cauliflower ear."
2. June 2003 – Mr. Stern received a verbal warning after a complaint was received that he wrote inappropriate comments on a news website about high school sports.
3. December 2002 – Mr. Stern received a conference summary after a student and student's parent reported that Mr. Stern had made inappropriate racial comments during a wrestling match.
4. November 1999 - Report was made about something that allegedly occurred in 1998. The allegation was that he made a student stand naked holding a ruler over his head. The school contacted Pinellas Park Police. PPPD investigated and referred the case to the State Attorney's Office for review. The SAO did not file charges. Mr. Stern was a volunteer at the time of this report.
