Former Little Miss Kickball coach arrested in child grooming case

Little Miss Kickball’s safety promises were put under a harsh spotlight after coach and board member Harry Wallace Grabowske IV was arrested on child grooming and online solicitation charges tied to a 14-year-old girl. The 38-year-old was taken into custody by the Corpus Christi Police Department on Sunday, June 21, 2026, as investigators and court records turned months of online allegations into a formal criminal case.

Police began looking into the matter after the girl’s parents reported concerns about communications between their daughter and Grabowske. The affidavit says the contact began in September 2025 and continued through late May 2026, with investigators alleging the messages came through social media, phone calls and other electronic platforms outside league activities. Court records also say Grabowske sent the girl $200 through Cash App in November 2025, money the family later said was returned.

The case is now in the hands of the Nueces County District Attorney’s Office, which accepted the matter and authorized charges after reviewing the investigation. Court records set bonds at $100,000 on the child grooming count and $150,000 on the online solicitation count. The charges matter beyond one arrest because Texas separately treats online solicitation of a minor and child grooming as offenses centered on sexual conduct with minors.

The league moved to cut off contact before the arrest. In a June 17 statement, Little Miss Kickball said its State Executive Board had been notified, Grabowske had been suspended from all involvement, and a stay-away order had been issued from league premises. League president Candy Crider said the group’s priority was the safety and welfare of its players, and that it had notified law enforcement and launched its own investigation.

The arrest has also pulled the league into a larger reckoning about youth-sports oversight. A lawsuit tied to the case alleges Grabowske abused a position of trust with a young player and seeks more than $1 million, underscoring how quickly a volunteer or coaching role can become a trust failure when leagues do not catch warning signs early. For parents in Corpus Christi and Laguna, the key question now is how Little Miss Kickball rebuilds confidence in the background checks, reporting channels and board supervision that are supposed to protect every child who steps onto the field.