Portsmouth High School Asst. Coach Charged With Sexual Assault

The Stratham man charged with sexually assaulting a minor at a Portsmouth restaurant was an assistant baseball coach at Portsmouth High School.

James McKenzie, 55, of Stratham surrendered to Portsmouth Police on Wednesday and was charged with sexual assault and simple assault for an incident that took place Saturday. He has an appearance in Portsmouth District Court on April 11.

According to the Patch of Exeter, the Portsmouth Police Log showed he was accused of "forcibly fondling" a minor at Gibb’s Garage Bar and Grille on Lafayette Road. McKenzie's Facebook page indicates he also works at Gibb's.

Portsmouth school superintendent Stephen Zadravec told Seacoast Current that McKenzie was removed from his position after Portsmouth Police made the department aware of the allegation.

"We have no evidence that any of the allegations relate to his role as assistant baseball coach or occurred on school grounds. Nonetheless, we take student safety as our number one priority and will continue to work with the police department in any way that would be helpful in their investigation," Zadravec said.

Police asked anyone with information regarding this incident to contact them at 603-610-7667. Anonymous tips can be made through Seacoast Crime Stoppers by calling 603-431-1199.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNH