Girls’ travel softball coach charged with stealing thousands from East Peoria team funds

TAZEWELL COUNTY (25News Now) – A travel softball coach pleaded not guilty to theft after approximately $6,000 of the team’s finances went missing.

Jessica McMichael coached a 10-and-under travel softball team in East Peoria called the Central Illinois Patriots.

According to a team mom, Emma McMullen, the coach promoted team tryouts on the Central Illinois Girls Softball Facebook page. McMullen said it seemed like a good, low-level, light-travel fit for her daughter.

Court documents state the team was formed in August 2023 and McMichael was appointed head coach. She and another woman were also in charge of finances. However, after the other woman stepped down for health reasons, McMichael became the sole money manager and used her personal bank account to collect player fees and fundraising money.

McMullen said it took less than a year for herself and other parents to realize money was disappearing. She said merchandise was coming in late, and equipment would never get delivered.

“I start going back and I find all of our old messages, like on text and Venmo, talking about, ‘I need this amount of money, and these are the uniforms you’re going to get, and you’re going to get this many shirts, and this many pants, and this many belts.’ We paid all that, and then, come to find out, we really only got a third of what she said we were getting,” said McMullen.

The mom claims Coach McMichael never spent money on fields either. Instead the team practiced on ‘first come first serve’ fields. She also said, at one point, McMichael planned a tournament and collected fees from other teams but never followed through with the games.

The girls also participated in fundraisers, where McMullen said it became difficult to continue asking people for money. One fundraiser at the Deer Creek American Legion frustrated more than just McMullen.

“[McMichael] had the girls go to the legion, and wait tables on Sunday morning to make tip money. [McMichael] literally took tip money out of their hands, their tiny, little, 10-year-old hands,” said McMullen.

According to the court document, McMichael stopped coaching in May and moved to South Carolina. Following that, another family from the team went to the police and showed how the team collected $14,133 but $6,221 was unaccounted for.

The Tazewell County State Attorney’s Office did not ask to hold McMichael in jail while she waits for her trial. She joined Thursday afternoon’s arraignment hearing through a Zoom call from home.

McMullen said the girls finished their season and were coached by parents who stepped up.

Central Illinois Patriots could not help return the lost money, but McMullen said the community rallied behind the team, hosting fundraisers, and other local teams shared equipment, fields, and umpires.

“If all we get out of it is a familiar face, a smile, and a hug from an old friend across the way, then that’s what we have to take from it and leave it at that,” said McMullen. “Of course, it’d be great to get money back, but we just don’t want her to do it to anybody else.”

McMullen said she learned to hold people accountable for their actions and ask the hard questions without worrying about your kid’s playing time.

McMichael faces a felony count of theft control exceeding $500 and not exceeding $10,000 in value.

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