Parents protest the Rhode Island school board after district covered up coach’s inappropriate behavior with students

Parents protested before the North Kingstown School District in Rhode Island on Tuesday after administrators withheld reports of the school's basketball coach having student athletes strip naked to conduct "fat tests" behind closed doors.

Basketball coach Aaron Thomas resigned in February just before North Kingstown High School planned to terminate him, WPRI reports.

Documented reports disclosing Thomas' inappropriate behavior allegedly failed to upload to systems and he was hired by a private Catholic middle school in the Fall.

Student athletes at Kingstown High School reported Thomas to administrators in 2018 but the school did not notify parents about the incident until last week, resulting in outrage from both parents and students.

According to police documents obtained by Target 12, students told detectives that "they were naked and alone with the coach behind closed doors, without consent forms, parent notifications or other witnesses present."

After Target 12 released the report, Monsignor Clarke School notified parents that Thomas had been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.

"The truth will come out but it's unbelievable that only minimal action was taken at the time," a parent said before the school board while expressing frustration that they knew about Thomas' behavior since 2018.

"Only now because of brave alumni coming forward do we know the full extent of this disturbing behavior," he continued. "Just a week ago, the current school committee met for six hours in private with their lawyer only to issue a press release with the purpose of covering their own butts."

Parents called on the superintendent of the school district to resign.