DA charges East Bay teacher and track coach with human trafficking, pimping

PLEASANT HILL, Calif. - The Contra Costa County District Attorney has charged a Diablo Valley College faculty member and track coach in connection with human trafficking and pimping for allegedly making two women commit crimes of prostitution. 

Kyle Lee Whitmore, a 39-year-old Crockett resident, was arrested last Thursday after one of the women reported her situation to authorities at DVC, a community college based in Pleasant Hill, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

Investigators identified a second woman and took the tenured communications instructor and track coach into custody last week. 

He was charged Monday and did not enter a plea on Tuesday during his arraignment.

His defense attorney, Darryl Stallworth of Oakland, asked for the matter to be continued to Sept. 19. He told KTVU that he would have a statement prepared to issue then.

He is being held without bail at the West County Detention Facility.

No one answered a phone number listed to his address. 

In a statement, the Contra Costa Community College District said that Whitmore was placed on administrative leave after his Sept. 7 arrest. 

Whitmore had been featured prominently at DVC, especially when he won track coach of the year in 2021-22. The school also interviewed him two years ago in a welcome back to school video.

According to the Bay Area News Group, he was hired in 2014. 

At the time, Whitmore was quoted as saying: "One of my biggest motivations in taking this position is pushing these kids to the next level. That s what I m all about, he said. I want to create something really solid and sustainable."

The district's statement added that they are grateful to their staff, who were able to identify a serious situation and quickly report it police services, who then told the Contra Costa County Sheriff andthe  DA. 

"The district is devastated by the seriousness of the allegations that have been raised thus far," the district said in its statement. "The safety of our students and staff is our main priority. We take seriously any accusations of inappropriate behavior by our employees and honor the expectation that our students, staff, and visitors have to be safe when they visit our campuses."

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office investigation division at (925) 313-2600. 

People wanting to report human trafficking cases in the county can call a District Attorney's Office hotline at (925) 957-8658 or a national hotline at 211.