PAYSON, Utah — A wrestling coach at Payson High School has been arrested on multiple charges connected to the alleged sexual assault of students and team members.
Chayce Loveless was arrested Friday and faces 11 charges of forcible sexual abuse and four charges of enticing a minor.
In July, the FBI shared a cyber tip it had received with the Payson Police Department, in which a former student and member of the wrestling team claimed he had been sexually abused by someone on the coaching staff.
Loveless, 28, was identified as the staff member. serving as the team's assistant coach.
According to arrest documents, Loveless took the victim out of practice, grabbed his sexual organs, and would then ask the victim to send him nude photographs. The victim said Loveless touched him "in excess of 30 times" between the ages of 16 and 17.
The victim told police that he was aware of several students who were under the age of 18 and sent nude photos to Loveless between 2020 and 2024.
Another victim said Loveless had touched him as well, and "would say something along the lines of 'call me daddy' before letting go of their genitals," the documents said.
A third victim shared how, when he was either 14 or 15, Loveless would offer him money and food to send him nude photos.
Police took Loveless into custody during a traffic stop Friday and searched his home and electronic devices. Loveless allegedly admitted to soliciting four minors for nude photos, three of whom were wrestlers at Payson High School.
When asked about grabbing the genitals of the victims, Loveless said he did not remember, but if he did, court documents said he responded by claiming "he was joking around with them and if they said they did, he probably did grab them."