An arrest affidavit obtained by CBS News Texas reveals more details about what led up to the arrest of a teacher and volleyball coach accused of grooming a teenage girl to have a sexual relationship with her, including the discovery of an AI-generated document outlining manipulation tactics.

Matthan Lough, 32, was arrested on Dec. 10 on a charge of child grooming, a third-degree felony. His father, Kevin Lough, was the senior pastor of the Christian Center of Mesquite, where some of the alleged grooming took place.

The victim and her mother filed a report with Mesquite police about Lough on Oct. 2. According to police, the victim’s mother found out about the relationship earlier that week.

Mesquite police: Grooming began more than two years ago

The affidavit outlines how the case began with an interaction at a party in the spring of 2023.

According to the affidavit, the victim met Lough at her cousin’s graduation party when he approached her while she was playing volleyball. The victim recognized Lough from church, as his wife was the worship leader for their youth group. Lough asked her if she would be interested in joining a club volleyball team he wanted to start at the church. 

It was not until the fall of 2024 that Lough held tryouts for the team, and the victim was given a spot, the affidavit said. The victim reported a series of unusual interactions with Lough over the following months in which he shared overly personal details about his life and marriage, then began to make flirty and inappropriate jokes, according to the report.

Lough’s inappropriate behavior escalated further over the summer of 2025, when he started sending the victim explicit messages and discussed committing murders, the affidavit said. Lough also repeatedly made sure the victim knew he was carrying a gun, making her fear for her safety.

In September, the affidavit describes the relationship turning physical. Lough allegedly kissed the victim at a church event. Later that month, he sexually assaulted her twice, the victim told police.

The relationship ended after the victim’s mother discovered the inappropriate messages on the victim’s devices. Her mother then contacted Lough’s wife.

Police said that after the victim filed the report, detectives obtained a search warrant and found an AI-generated document on Lough’s iPad titled “Hypothetical Counter-Influence Plan.” The document outlined phases such as “rebuild her autonomy” and “shift the power dynamic,” and provided guidance on how to achieve success.

Fallout from child grooming case

After the relationship was uncovered, police said Lough’s wife left Texas. Court records show she filed for divorce in October.

Lough’s father also resigned as senior pastor of the Christian Center of Mesquite. In a post on the church’s website, its board said the church would work to seek justice for the victim. It also said the church has “initiated an immediate internal review of all child protection policies, volunteer screening processes, and facility access logs to ensure the absolute safety of every child and youth within our care.”

Texas A&M shook up the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament when the No. 3 Aggies upset top-ranked and previously unbeaten Nebraska in their regional final. Now, the Aggies are headed to their first Final Four in program history.

No. 3 Wisconsin, which ousted Texas, another No. 1 seed, on its home court, and No. 1 seeds Kentucky and Pittsburgh join Texas A&M in the national semifinals, which take place Thursday at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.

The Aggies will take on Pitt in one semifinal, while Wisconsin and Kentucky will face off in the other. Neither Texas A&M nor the Panthers have won a national championship, though Pitt will play in its fifth straight Final Four. Both Wisconsin (2021) and Kentucky (2020) have won one national title.

Here are key facts about the 2025 NCAA Division I women’s volleyball tournament:

What is the remaining schedule?

*All times Eastern

Thursday, Dec. 18

Semifinal: No. 3 Texas A&M vs. No. 1 Pittsburgh – 6:30 p.m. on ESPN

“NCAA Women’s Volleyball Studio Show” – 8:30 p.m. on ESPN

Semifinal: No. 3 Wisconsin vs. No. 1 Kentucky – 9 p.m. on ESPN

Sunday, Dec. 21

“NCAA Women’s Volleyball Preview Show” – 3 p.m. on ABC

Championship – 3:30 p.m. on ABC

How can fans watch?

Fans can catch all of the action in the ESPN App and in the NCAA women’s volleyball streaming hub.

How can fans access more college sports coverage from ESPN?

Check out the ESPN college sports hub page for the latest news, scores, rankings and more.

Seniors Ashley Currier and Marin Hangliter as well as sophomore Olivia Baxter of the Clarkson University Volleyball team have been named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District® Volleyball team. 

The 2025 Academic All-District® Volleyball teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom. To be eligible, student-athletes need to be of sophomore standing both athletically and academically, hold a cumulative grade-point average of 3.50 or better, and have participated in 90% of sets or have started at least two-thirds of their respective team’s matches. 

Baxter, a sophomore majoring in Chemical Engineering, was a Liberty League Second-Team All-Star thanks to her excellence in the back row. Baxter ranked 22nd nationally in digs per set (5.40 dps) and was 57th nationally in aces per set (0.63 aps).

Currier, a senior majoring in Mechanical Engineering, continued to be relied upon in a variety of roles for the Knights, averaging 7.09 assists, 0.95 kills, 2.50 digs, and 0.61 blocks per set. In a match against University of Rochester she nearly posted an incredibly rare feat, coming up just one kill short of a quadruple double (31 assists, 16 digs, 10 blocks, and 9 kills). 

Hangliter, a senior majoring in Environmental Engineering, finished the season averaging 2.62 kills per set, which ranked second on the team. She also was second in the Liberty League in aces per set with 0.64, which placed her 49th nationally in that category.  

LEWISBURG, Pa.- Bucknell Volleyball continued its proud tradition of allying academic and athletic success by landing three athletes on the CSC Academic All-District Women’s Volleyball Teams, as announced Tuesday. Tijana Kostic, Caleigh O’Connell, and Riley Tucker received the prestigious laurel for the second consecutive season. O’Connell and Tucker also earned Academic All-Patriot League last month.  

CSC Release

Kostic, a senior Economics major, holds a marvelous 3.73 GPA. She repeated as All-Patriot League Team for the second straight season and was the first Bison to since Emily Pomeroy in 1997-98 to accomplish the feat. Kostic finished second on the team in kills (270) and digs (256). Off the court, she is a two-year member of the Leadership Institute for Student-Athletes and Bucknell’s Breakout Performer of the Year. Her postgraduate plan is pursuing a career in marketing, advertising, or media.

O’Connell, a senior Marketing, Innovation, and Design major, has an excellent 3.82 GPA. O’Connell earned the 2025 Patriot League Preseason Setter of the Year and won the first PL Setter of the Year in program history last year. She collected 2,847 career assists to sit third in Bucknell history. She is a two-year member of the Leadership Institute for Student Athletes and won Bucknell’s “Breakout Performer of the Year” and plans to pursue a career in marketing, advertising or media.

Tucker, a senior biology major, owns a superlative 3.88 GPA and has achieved a Dean’s List spot every semester. The middle blocker has 233 career blocks with 388 kills. A true scholar-athlete, she is a member of Bucknell’s first generation community, the Alpha Alpha Alpha honor society, the Pre Health society, the Society of Physics Students, serves as a choreographer and dancer in Bucknell’s dance department, the President of BisonCares, member of Chi Omega sorority, Women in STEM club, Biology club, Circle K Club. Her postgraduate plans are using her graduate year to pursue a masters degree, then attend medical school to become a doctor. She wants to also continue her love for dance and become a dance teacher. 

The Bison will return to the court in August 2026. 

FAYETTEVILLE – Jordan Anthony is one of three male finalists from the 2025 season for The Bowerman as each awaits the announcement of this year’s trophy recipient during the presentation that will be held Thursday evening at the Gaylor Texan Resort in Grapevine, Texas.

Started in 2009, The Bowerman is presented annually by the USTFCCCA to the top male collegiate athlete and to the top female collegiate athlete in the sport of NCAA track & field. Coverage of The Bowerman Presentation will be available for free on runnerspace.com starting at 6:20 p.m. (CT).

The Bowerman men’s finalist includes Auburn’s Ja’Kobe Tharp and Baylor’s Nathaniel Ezekiel. While Anthony swept NCAA Indoor 60m and NCAA Outdoor 100m titles, Tharp claimed a pair of NCAA titles in the 60m hurdles and 110m hurdles. Ezekiel won the 400m hurdles at NCAA Outdoor and finished second in the 400m at NCAA Indoor.

Anthony is the fourth Razorback to be a finalist for the men’s Bowerman. Two Razorbacks have claimed the honor with Jarrion Lawson (2016) and Jaydon Hibbert (2023) while Ayden Owens-Delerme was a finalist in 2022.

“It’s the Heisman of track and field,” noted Arkansas men’s head coach Doug Case. “I think Jordan has had the best combined season with indoor and outdoor. The points he scored at conference and national championships were part of a tremendous season. I feel he should be the No. 1 candidate to win the award.

“We have tradition here at Arkansas with the Bowerman. We’ve had two winners who were superstars as well. Jordan is right in that category with those guys.”

Jordan Anthony | 2025 Postseason Meets

Indoor
SEC		10 points
	60m	1) 6.54 =PR
NCAA		10 points
	60m	1) 6.49 [6.47 UA record in prelim]
Outdoor
SEC		21.5 points (Commissioner’s Trophy | High Point Scorer)
	100m	1) 9.95 [UA record]
	200m	1) 19.93 [No. 2 UA]
	4 x 100m	3) 38.60
NCAA		16.5 points (High Point Scorer)
	100m	1) 10.07
	200m	4) 20.01
	4 x 100m	3) 38.72

In completing his first full season of collegiate track and field instead of sharing time with the football program, Anthony delivered a pair of national sprint titles and three SEC titles while claiming high point honors at both SEC Outdoor and NCAA Outdoor Championship meets.

Aided by the scoring efforts from Anthony, Arkansas placed fourth in team scoring at the NCAA Indoor and were third at NCAA Outdoor. The Razorbacks were named John McDonnell Men’s Program of the Year as they produced three podium finishes in cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field for the 2024-25 season.

It marked the first three NCAA trophy season by a Division I men’s program in nine years and the first by the Razorbacks since 1999-2000.

Anthony earned the Commissioner’s trophy at the SEC Outdoor Championships as the high-point scorer with 21.5 points as the Razorbacks claimed the team title.

Twenty of those conference points came in sweeping the 100m and 200m with stellar performances of 9.95 and 19.93 as Anthony became just the third sprinter in SEC history to achieve the sweep with sub-10 and sub-20 second times.

Named the SEC Outdoor Runner of the Year, Anthony became the first Razorback to attain the honor since Caleb Cross in 2012.

Anthony was also the high-point scorer at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with 16.5 points. Combining the NCAA Indoor (10 points) with his NCAA Outdoor tally, Anthony produced the most points between both championships in 2025 with 26.5 points.

“It was a great season and being healthy is a very important part of it,” said Case. “I think we did a great job in the weight room. Our training room did a great job of keeping him healthy. In coaching him, I brought him along really slowly. I didn’t try to push the speed on him too soon. I tried to prolong his season all the way into NCAAs. It ended up working out pretty good.

“For Jordan to be dedicated to that in the short period of time we had to work to get him to that level, I think he did a tremendous job of being focused on his season and the goals he wanted to achieve. It kind of proves if you really put your nose to the grindstone in a short period of time you can get a lot of stuff done.”

Anthony established UA school records in the 60m and 100m with times of 6.47 and 9.95. In sweeping the NCAA titles, Anthony became the first sprinter since Christian Coleman of Tennessee in 2017 to claim the NCAA 60m and 100m titles. Anthony was also the lone sprinter to reach the NCAA Indoor 60m, NCAA Outdoor 100m and 200m finals this season.

In addition to setting school records in the 60m and 100m, the 19.93 performance in the 200m ranks second on the Arkansas all-time list behind a 19.89 registered by Wallace Spearmon, Jr. in 2005.

Having a reunion tour in 2025, Jordan visited his previous collegiate stops on his journey to Arkansas. First was College Station, Texas, as the SEC Indoor was hosted by Texas A&M. Kentucky hosted the SEC Outdoor and then there was a return visit to College Station for the NCAA West First Rounds where Anthony sprinted to a blistering time of 9.75w seconds with a 2.1 aiding wind.

“It was great, honestly, because due to the fact people believed I was fast but I couldn’t really show that I was fast because of my previous injuries,” said Anthony. “I knew my time would come and I knew what I would be capable of doing. When I got out there it just turned to magic.”

Another reunion occurred at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, California, near where Anthony was born in the Los Angeles area. There he won the 100m in a then career best of 9.98 to initially break the Arkansas school record.

In winning the NCAA Indoor 60m, Anthony feels that was his best executed race during the season while his most significant race was winning the SEC Outdoor 200m.

“I hit exactly every angle I needed to hit,” stated Anthony of the 60m race. “Then 40 to 45m out I was already celebrating because I knew I had the race won.

“My most important victory was probably the 200m at SEC Outdoor. Just shutting everybody up and quieting the stands since nobody even thought that I would be in the picture of winning the 200m. That was a really big moment for me. It put a dagger in everybody’s heart.”