Dadeville track and field coach, teacher arrested on sex crimes
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A Dadeville High School track and field coach and teacher was arrested Wednesday on sex crimes.
Mardracus Ladell Russell, 43, was booked into the Tallapoosa County Jail at 5:59 p.m. and charged with school employee sexual contact with a student and two counts of transmitting obscene material to a child.
Russell was a history teacher and track & field coach at Dadeville High School. Russell led the Dadeville boys’ team to their first AHSAA Indoor State Championship in 2024-2025, earning him Section 3 Coach of the Year honors, according to a December 2025 article from Tallapoosa Publisher’s Inc.
While the district did not issue a statement on the arrest, at the time of the initial allegations, the district did issued a statement.
In the statement, they said Superintendent Casey Davis and the members of the Tallapoosa County Board of Education were aware of the situation involving a staff member at Dadeville High School and understand the community’s concern.
“The employee in question has been placed on leave,” the statement said. “We are fully cooperating with law enforcement and assisting with their investigation.“
If the district issues a statement, this article will be updated. Russell appears to not have a bond.
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