High School Coach in Boca Charged With Touching Student, Explicit Chats For Two Years

Charles Keith Mackrey/Olympic Heights Community High School. (Photos: PBSO/Boca Daily News)

A former high school basketball coach at Olympic Heights Community High School in Boca Raton has been charged with engaging in sexually explicit conduct with a student.

Charles Keith Mackrey, 51, of Wellington, became the subject of an investigation after a Palm Beach Schools Police Department officer was called to sit in on an interview between the school’s principal and a parent and student in August 2024. According to a probable cause statement filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, the student stated that over the previous two years, from August of 2022 until May of 2024Mackrey, who was also a teacher at the high school, had been touching her in private areas over her clothing and making statements such as, “You are so hot” and “I wish I could have you”.

The student said the inappropriate conduct took place in a classroom and a coach’s office between 15 and 20 times over the two year period. The investigating officer then notified a supervisor with the state Department of Children and Family Services about the allegation, the report said.

Olympic Heights Community High School, Boca Raton, FL. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

The investigation continued, and in January 2025, police learned from a confidential victim that Mackrey asked students if they would be interested in becoming basketball managers for the team he coached. The alleged victim was then added to a group chat on a mobile device that included only female students interested in managing the team. Mackrey, the student told police, then is alleged to have started private text message chats with her, making flirtatious comments about her clothing and the how she wore it. The allegations were said to have occurred in the 2022 and 2023 school years, despite being reported in 2025.

In one event chronicled in the report, Mackrey is accused of touching a girl’s inner leg on several occasions despite the girl having pushed away the advances, and hinting that he would like to “run away” with her when she turned 18.

According to the police report, the student told a friend about the incidents, who encouraged her to report them to authorities. The victim was still a juvenile at the time. An additional report was then generated by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Department, but was sealed and unable to be accessed by the school police department, the statement said.

In a later interview, a student relayed an allegation that Mackrey used apps such as FaceTime and WhatsApp to send flirtatious messages “at all hours of the night.” A number of text messages were turned over to police and entered into evidence, the report said.

Palm Beach School Police. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

Mackrey was charged this week, leading to an e-mail being sent by the school principal to students and parents informing them that the accused teacher and coach had not worked in the district for over a year.

“The District holds all employees to the highest standards of conduct and is committed to a safe learning environment for all students,” the e-mail from Principal Kelly Mills Burke said. “We expect every staff member to meet the professional and ethical standards necessary to ensure the safety of students and community members, and to provide the best possible educational experience.”

Mackrey is being held in the Palm Beach County jail in lieu of $25,000 bond. He is formally charged with committing a sexual offense against a minor by an authority figure.