Moon girls basketball coach under investigation

Moon police are investigating Moon Area High School girls basketball coach Tom Szczepankowski for inappropriate conduct involving students.

"We're in the very preliminary stages," Det. Greg Seamon said Friday. "All I've heard is rumors. We could end up anywhere from him being completely exonerated, to the school handling it internally, to criminal charges being filed, depending on what we uncover."

Neither police nor school officials would detail the allegations against Szczepankowski, of Moon, a health and physical education teacher whose team won the WPIAL championship this season.

School district Solicitor Jack Cambest said the district received a complaint May 27 about Szczepankowski and opened an internal investigation. Szczepankowski was placed on paid administrative leave Thursday.

"We felt we should contact (police) immediately. Obviously, if there's any possibility of any criminal conduct, we should notify them, which we did," Cambest said.

Seamon said he hopes the police investigation will end within a week.

Cambest said the district will conclude its probe by Tuesday.

Some parents are defending Szczepankowski.

Randy Eckleberry, whose daughter played and coached with Szczepankowski for the Pittsburgh Power, a summer club team, expressed surprise at the investigation.

"I've been around Tom and helped him with the team. I went to every tournament game they ever had and there was never any kind of inappropriate behavior," Randy Eckleberry said. "I've seen how he interacts with the girls, and this is way out of character for anything I saw, witnessed or have been around."

His daughter, Jenna Eckleberry, 20, of Chester, W Va., played for the Pittsburgh Power for six years and worked as an assistant coach for the past

two summers with the club team.

"To tell you the truth, I'm sick to my stomach," said Jenna Eckleberry, a sophomore at Fairmont State. "I'm shocked. I don't think that's him. Not at all."

Moon football coach Mark Capuano, whose daughter Nia played for Szczepankowski at the high school and club teams, is also skeptical of the charges.

"We support coach S," Capuano said. "He's a friend of ours and knowing Tom, I have no doubt in my mind that nothing occurred."

Szczepankowski, a 1988 graduate of Steel Valley High School, has compiled a 125-47 record in six seasons at Moon. He was previously an assistant at Oakland Catholic for three years.

Sczepankowski could not be reached for comment.