Ex-Falcons Safety Denied Bond in Greenwood Sex Crimes Case Involving Teen, 15

A former Atlanta Falcons defensive back who lives in Simpsonville, South Carolina, was charged by police in Greenwood with sex crimes involving a 15-year-old girl. Secdrick Cooper, who signed with the Atlanta Falcons after a standout career at Louisiana Tech, was arrested on August 16.

According to PennLive.com, the Greenwood Police Department charged Cooper with second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor, or attempted criminal sexual conduct with a minor, involving a victim younger than 16, along with first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. Per the same report, investigators say Cooper met the girl through a mutual acquaintance connected to a workplace, and police say the two engaged in sexual intercourse. The girl's mother contacted police after her daughter went missing, the outlet notes, and officers opened an investigation after learning the teen had been with Cooper.

Public jail records reviewed by Recently Booked show Cooper was booked into the Greenwood County Detention Center at 12:42 p.m. on August 16. Greenwood, the seat of Greenwood County, sits roughly 45 miles south of Simpsonville, which sources identify as Cooper's residence — explaining why the case is being handled by a different jurisdiction than his hometown, according to Hoodline's prior local reporting on the Upstate region.

No Bond on Either Charge

Cooper was denied bond on both charges, per the seed report. That report describes the bond outcome without detailing the procedure behind it.

South Carolina law sets the age of consent at 16, meaning any sexual act between an adult and someone younger is illegal regardless of any claimed consent, per the Masella Law Firm. Cooper faces a second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor charge involving a victim between the ages of 11 and 15. The sexual exploitation charge Cooper faces is a separate first-degree offense involving a minor, the same legal database notes.

Potential Consequences Beyond Prison

A conviction on the felony charges could also carry consequences beyond prison time. All charges against Cooper remain allegations at this stage, and he has not been convicted of any crime.

A Brief Brush With the NFL

Before his arrest, Cooper was known in football circles for a solid, if short-lived, professional career. A Louisiana native, he signed with Louisiana Tech as part of the 2014 recruiting class and played safety for the Bulldogs from 2014 through 2017, according to Fox Sports.

Cooper's on-field production backs up his college career. As a junior in 2016 he recorded 73 tackles, six passes defended and 1.5 sacks; as a senior in 2017 he tallied 65 tackles, three interceptions, one pass defended and one sack. He went undrafted in the 2018 NFL Draft but signed with the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent. The Falcons cut him before the regular season, and Cooper never appeared in a regular-season game, according to Hattiesburg News, which detailed the exact dates of his brief NFL stint.

According to the South Carolina State Library Digital Collections’ 2024 Annual Accountability Report, a task force investigated 13,906 cases, responded to 11,097 cyber tips involving solicitation of minors and found 329,680 files of child sexual abuse material.

Open questions remain about the case, including the precise nature of the workplace connection through which Cooper reportedly met the teenager and the exact timeline of her missing-person report. A preliminary hearing date in Greenwood County court has not yet been reported.