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Chester County volunteer youth basketball coach charged with rape of 13-year-old girl

Published  September 16, 2022 11:01am EDT
Crime & Public Safety
FOX 29 Philadelphia
article

Ameer Sutton-Best is accused of raping a 13-year-old girl and exchanging inappropriate messages with others.

PARKESBURG, Pa. - A volunteer youth basketball coach in Chester County is being held on $1M bail after prosecutors say he raped a young girl and exchanged lewd Snapchat messages with other others. 

Investigators say Ameer Sutton-Best, 31, began sending inappropriate sexual text messages to a 13-year-old girl during the summer. In an interview with the victim, the girl told police that later in the summer Sutton-Best picked her up and brought her to a location in Parkesburg where he forced her into the backseat of his car and raped her.

After the alleged rape, the victim told police that she blocked Sutton-Best on all social media accounts, but he contacted her mother. Both the victim and her mother started receiving phone calls and texts from acquaintances of Sutton-Best begging them not to call police, according to investigators. 

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Sutton-Best is also accused of sending inappropriate Snapchat messages to two other 13-year-olds and a 14-year-old. Prosecutors say he asked one of the young teens if she was "into older men" and solicited explicit photos from another victim. 

Sutton-Best is charged with rape, sexual abuse of children, corruption of minor and related offenses. He is being held at Chester County Prison on $1M bail. 

"Ameer Sutton-Best is a child predator who preyed on young teen girls knowing their age and violating his position of trust. He had the audacity to try to buy his way out of this," Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan said.

Investigators fear there may be more victims of Sutton-Best and urged anyone with information to contact their local authorities.