Fairfax County police on Aug. 9 arrested Langley High School head football coach David Clay Murray, 48, after he allegedly tried to solicit an undercover Frederick County (Md.) Sheriff’s Office detective posing as a minor during an online sting operation.
According to an Aug. 12 sheriff’s office statement on X (formerly Twitter), Murray, a Fairfax County resident, faces five counts of sexual solicitation of a minor.
The arrest occurred after Murray on Aug. 1 allegedly initiated communication with a detective from the sheriff’s office’s Internet Crimes Against Children Section, who was posing as a 15-year-old girl. The detective repeated her assumed underage status several times during the conversation, authorities said.
Murray allegedly continued to engage in a sexual conversation with the undercover detective and reportedly solicited numerous sex acts, the statement read.
Frederick County detectives subsequently obtained warrants against Murray and contacted Fairfax County police, who arrested and held him in that county. He will be remanded to Maryland.
Murray, who has taught for more than two decades at Fairfax County Public Schools, was hired in 2020 as a computer-programming teacher and head football coach at Langley High School.
He is a 1994 graduate of Fairfax High School and the University of Virginia and, according to his statement on X, previously taught Advanced Placement computer science and pre-calculus.
The Langley High coaching position was Murray’s first as head coach. He previously was an assistant coach at Fairfax, South Lakes, West Potomac, Fairfax, Lee (now Lewis) and West Springfield high schools and Lake Braddock and Hayfield secondary schools.
“Langley is one of those crown-jewel jobs, because it gets so much community support,” Murray told the former Sun Gazette Newspapers in January 2020. “That’s why I set my sights on a position like this. It checks all the boxes. I could not be happier to be here.”
According to Murray’s statement on X, his hobbies include music, games, family, science fiction and local sports.
The posting also showed photos of athletes and the University of Virginia flag and ended with the comment, “Since I have no kids to show off, I’ll substitute ex-players!”
Fairfax County Public Schools suspended Murray following his arrest.
“We understand this will come as a shock to our community,” Superintendent Michelle Reid said in a statement. “We are doing everything we can to address this situation.”
