A former NFL player and volunteer coach with a Valley high school football team was told not to return to campus after he was indicted by a grand jury, accused of sexual conduct with a minor.
According to court documents, the allegations against Nicholas Murphy include knowingly taking a girl from Omaha, Nebraska to Tucson, Arizona in October 2021.
"Not guilty plea will be entered..." said a judge in audio from the federal court hearing Wednesday.
Murphy is an ASU graduate, where he played football before having a short career in the NFL. According to the FBI, the 43-year-old now lives in Scottsdale but formerly lived in Omaha.
ABC15 was told during his time in Nebraska, he co-owned a studio called Dance Authority for about 10 years.
The new owner of the studio, Darci Bray, spoke with ABC15 Thursday over the phone.
"We are pretty well known across the Omaha area," said Bray. "We have about 200 kiddos that come in each week."
Bray said she bought the studio from Murphy and his wife last summer.
"Nick and Mindy have not been affiliated with the studio since the sale of the studio, and they certainly won't be affiliated with the studio during an ongoing criminal investigation," said Bray.
She said her priority is making sure her students feel safe and protected.
ABC15 was told Murphy was a volunteer coach for the freshman football team at Desert Mountain High School.
The Scottsdale Unified School District said once they found out about the indictment, he would no longer be serving with the team.
Parents received a letter Wednesday night from the district.
Dear Desert Mountain Families,
Earlier this evening we learned that one of our volunteer freshman football coaches has been indicted in the state of Nebraska. We want you to know that this person cleared a background check and had level one fingerprint clearance prior to being permitted to volunteer with our program. Upon learning of these out-of-state legal proceedings, he will no longer be volunteering with our program or anywhere in our district.
Should you believe that anyone in our district is behaving in an inappropriate manner with a student, we urge you to report it immediately. The safety and security of our students is our top priority.
During the court hearing, a Judge ruled Murphy will be allowed to return to Arizona to live with his parents.
ABC15 reached out to his dad who lives in the Valley, but over the phone, he only said "no comment."
The now-former volunteer coach will have to wear an ankle monitor and is to have no contact with minors.
That includes, for now, his teenage step-daughter who apparently knows witnesses in the case.
"The best way that I can say this is this is not state court," said the judge Wednesday. "This is Federal Court, and we don't mess around."
The FBI is still investigating whether there are more victims dating back possibly to 2011.
Bray passed the information on to parents at her dance studio.
"But yes, we have given the resources that were provided to us and asked to pass along from the FBI."
From the court hearing audio, it sounded like the judge was going to restrict Murphy's travel here in Arizona between Maricopa and Coconino counties, where Murphy's parents live.
The judge also seemed to okay supervised visits with some of Murphy's other children.
Murphy told the court he works as a software sales executive and also in recruiting for a real estate brokerage. He said for work he does sometimes travel. The judge seemed to okay the travel as long as he let the court know ahead of time.
ABC15 is working to get further court documents on the case.
The FBI is searching for potential victims. For more information on the case, click here.
