A parent of a former LaPorte High School volleyball player interviewed by police says hints of an inappropriate relationship between a coach and another player were present before the coach was criminally charged.

The father of the former player relayed to The Times details of his daughter's interview with police, as well as his own suspicion regarding behavior he said he witnessed at LaPorte volleyball matches. The former assistant junior varsity coach in question, Robert Ashcraft, is charged in LaPorte Criminal Court with engaging in a sexual relationship with a player beginning when the alleged victim was 15.

The Times chose not to identify the father or his daughter, who was not the alleged victim. The girl was one of a number of witnesses reportedly interviewed by police in the case.

The father said despite his own suspicion of impropriety, he did not know a relationship may have existed until his daughter gave a statement to Indiana State Police in the fall. In late October, he sat with his daughter when she spoke to investigators for more than an hour.

His daughter told police that during volleyball practices, Ashcraft and the alleged victim often locked themselves alone in a training room while other team members warmed up and ran laps.

At a volleyball tournament in 2007, as team members and the coaching staff relaxed between matches, Ashcraft cuddled with his alleged victim while watching a DVD, the player told police, her father said.

The player told police other coaching staff were present at the time, her father said.

Other people familiar with statements given to police relayed similar, or the same, accounts to The Times.

The father said he realizes his daughter may have been hinting something was wrong when his daughter would express frustration with the team.

But he believed at the time it stemmed from a kind of typical tension that can occur among teammates.

"(My daughter) was giving a signal, and we didn't pick up on it," he said.

But he said he and his wife thought, "'This certainly couldn't happen.' We're kind of kicking ourselves."

LaPorte Community School Corp. officials say Ashcraft resigned in October 2008. The father said parents were not given an explanation for his departure.

District Superintendent Judith DeMuth declined to comment on Ashcraft's case.

Ashcraft, 45, was charged in December with two felony counts of sexual misconduct with a minor and one felony count of child seduction.

Court documents allege Ashcraft began a relationship with a player in the fall of 2007 and had sexual intercourse at least 10 times with the girl, beginning in May or June 2008.

The father of the girl's teammate said he is speaking out because he is concerned with the effect alleged sexual misconduct had on the players.

"As 14-year-olds, the two people (the players) looked up to most were Bob Ashcraft and coach (MaryBeth) Lebo," he said.

Ashcraft's defense attorney, Steve Snyder, said it would be premature to comment on what he expects will be a lengthy case.

"I think there's another story to be told," Snyder said.

Lebo, LaPorte's head volleyball coach, has not responded to numerous requests for comment.

Indiana State Police have begun an investigation into whether school officials may have known about the alleged relationship and neglected to tell police or other authorities.

The LaPorte school corporation also has hired Valparaiso lawyer Larry Evans to conduct a separate investigation into what officials may have known about the alleged relationship. DeMuth said last week that Evans, contracted for $250 an hour, has not begun his inquiry but is reviewing case information to determine a list of people he wants to interview.

DeMuth did not estimate how many hours Evans would spend on the probe but said the lawyer would conduct "as thorough a job as needs to be done."