Crane community “in shock” over sexual abuse allegations against former coach
By Joe Hathaway on Thursday, May 2nd, 2024 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News Northeastern Oregon News
HARNEY COUNTY – Residents across Harney County are expressing shock and disbelief over sexual abuse allegations against a longtime former coach at Crane Union High School.
70-year-old Roy Lee “Stub” Travis Jr., has been accused of repeatedly sexually abusing one of his players in three Oregon counties in 2022.
Travis was a longtime coach at Crane Union. He was a football coach for 30 years before leaving the team in 2022 and also coached the girls basketball team for 28 seasons before stepping down in 2023.
A grand jury indictment filed Monday, April 29 in Deschutes County Circuit Court details 21 counts of second-degree sex abuse and two counts of giving alcohol to a minor.
Travis is accused of inappropriately touching one of the female basketball players he coached, including touching her breasts and genitals, on at least six occasions between June, 2022 and December, 2022. The indictment lists that the female was under 18 at the time of alleged sexual abuse.
He’s also accused of furnishing the same underage female alcohol on two of those occasions.
According to the indictment, the alleged crimes took place in Deschutes, Harney and Umatilla counties.
A former player for Travis at Crane Union, who wishes to remain anonymous, tells Elkhorn Media Group that she and the Crane community are stunned by the allegations.
“There certainly is a lot of emotion involved, and I’m not exactly sure how to articulate what I’m feeling,” said the former player. “I’ve known Stub my entire life and would go as far to say he was a father figure for several years when mine was physically absent. So this whole situation is tough.”
The former player goes on to say that all the years that Travis coached her, “I never once experienced, witnessed, or suspected any sexually inappropriate actions or relationships from Stub.”
She says she hopes people in the community don’t rush to judgement.
“It’s a small town and word travels fast. But (speaking from experience), no one ever knows the whole story and rumors are louder than facts,” she said. “I don’t know the facts and can’t pass judgement or have any accurate opinion regarding the charges.”
Matt Hawley, Superintendent of the Harney County School District 1, which Crane Union is a part of, emailed this statement to Elkhorn Media Group:
“At Harney County School District 1J, the safety and well-being of our students are our top priorities. While we cannot comment on the specifics of student and personnel matters, we want to assure our school community that we are dedicated to providing a safe and supportive environment for all students. We can also say that this individual is not a current employee of the District.”
The Burns Police Department says this is currently an open investigation and could not comment.
Travis led the Mustangs girls basketball team to 1A state titles in 2004, 2020 and 2022. He also led the football team to multiple playoffs and two state championship game appearances.
According to the indictment, Travis has yet to be booked and printed on these charges in Deschutes County.
Second-degree sexual abuse by a teacher or coach is a Class C Felony in Oregon with a maximum sentence of five years for each count.
