Spoto baseball coach Larry Benton arrested on prostitution charge
Spoto baseball coach Larry Benton was arrested early Saturday morning on a misdemeanor charge of soliciting another to commit prostitution.
According to Spoto's Web site, he's a member of the school's faculty. Benton couldn't be reached this afternoon; the answering machine on his home phone indicated his voice mailbox was full. Spoto principal Clyde Trathowen didn't immediately respond to a phone message. Hillsborough County school district spokesman Stephen Hegarty said Benton will not be permitted to report to the school -- which has adjourned for the summer anyway -- until district officials interview him and gather all the facts on the incident. A determination on discipline, if any, will follow. A 1977 King High graduate, Benton transformed Tampa Bay Tech's once-moribund program in the 1990s, leading it to a pair of 20-win campaigns and a Western Conference title during his seven seasons. After a hiatus of several years, he was hired at Leto in 2003 before eventually moving on to Spoto. His 2009 Spartans team finished 13-11. JOEY KNIGHT Benton, 50, was arrested by Tampa police at 6500 N. Nebraska Ave. in Tampa and booked Saturday at 2:39 a.m. He was released at 11:09 that morning on a $250 bond. His occupation, according to a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office arrest report, was listed as a TV technician.
The St. Petersburg Times High School Sports blog is written and compiled by the Times preps sports staff from Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco and Hernando counties. We invite your participation in the comments area.
oh and he does work at a tv shop in the summer
Posted by: baseball junkie | July 01, 2009 at 10:17 PM
i have know this man a while and he dont even let the kids on his team cus and he is a member at a church i think this was a set up
Posted by: baseball junkie | July 01, 2009 at 10:16 PM
A leopard doesn't change his spots. He did the same thing at TBT in the late 90s and was fired. Only thing, that time he was in a drivers' ed car and it got impounded! Great role model.
Posted by: jlabrusso | June 30, 2009 at 03:18 PM
you think that's funny , my kid is in georgia playing in a tournament for him .
Posted by: ravens | June 30, 2009 at 01:57 PM
Ummmmm, if my tax dollars are paying HIS salary, and he gets caught for prostitution, I don't want him around MY kid. He's gotta be a diiiirrrrty man to be picking up a crack-head off of Nebraska. Good riddance!!
He's already been investigated for other school violations before and he's only been there for two or three years.
Posted by: wellswood | June 29, 2009 at 11:43 PM
Poor guy. All he wanted was a little nookie and the cops and media are treating him like a criminal. I thought Obama was going to change us to be like France - where they don't give a rat's a** about this kind of thing.
Posted by: Karl | June 29, 2009 at 09:39 PM
Look at Benton trying to pull the old "okie-doke" and saying he's a "TV technician". HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Posted by: wellswood | June 29, 2009 at 06:09 PM