This article was originally published in The Examiner on Sept. 22, 2016.
By Eleanor Skelton
Staff Writer
PGA golf pro Kurt Picard, charged with two counts of sexual assault of a minor, was arrested Tuesday, Sept. 13, at his home in Nederland.
Port Neches Police Chief Paul Lemoine stated in an e-mail that the victim is 15 years old.
Picard, 52, was arrested without incident, according to Nederland Police Chief Darrell Bush.
The victim’s parents made their complaint to Port Neches Police on Aug. 15, according to a probable cause affidavit from Sept. 8, after they discovered “explicit text messages” exchanged between their daughter and Picard on the popular texting app WhatsApp.
Picard had been her golf coach since March of this year, according to the affidavit.
The victim stated that she and Picard had been “close friends” until August, when she allegedly had two sexual encounters with him, the second on Aug. 13.
The affidavit states that officers conducted a forensic analysis on the girl’s phone and recovered WhatsApp messages between her and Picard matching her statement.
Usage logs subpoenaed from Verizon confirmed the messages were from Picard’s number.
Eleanor Skelton 