Police report details lewd conduct allegations against former Nevada high school football coach

Boulder City police have released an arrest report for a former high school football coach arrested on 10 felony counts after an investigation into alleged lewd acts upon children.

Frank Mariani, 46, was charged with three felony counts of lewdness committed by a person over 18 with a child 14 or 15 years of age and seven felony counts of child abuse or neglect, the Boulder City Police Department said in a January news release.

Mariani, who goes by “Coach Bubba,” was the varsity football coach at Boulder City High School. The arrest report said that, among other things, Mariani made a player on the football team do jumping jacks so that he could see his penis “flop up and down.”

He is also accused of instructing a player to use AI to create a video depicting two other players kissing. Police said that on multiple occasions, Mariani “went behind the players, motioning as if he was having sex with the players” and slapped the buttocks of several players.

Nineteen of the 23 pages in the report were completely redacted, with three additional pages attached at the end, in which the police department cited laws regarding “open and active case or prosecution” and juvenile privacy to justify the redactions.

Other allegations in the report include that Mariani removed his pants in a locker room to display his eagle underwear and moved his genitals for the players to see; discussed dreams involving himself and minors having sex; and tried to reach for a player’s genitals.

The acts occurred between May 2024 and November 2025, according to the report.

In December, the mother of a Boulder City High School football player filed a complaint with the Boulder City Police Department regarding Mariani, the Boulder City Review reported.

Athena Gargill said her son alleged that Mariani had made “disgusting” sexual comments and gestures around the football team, the Review reported. Multiple other parents also contacted the Review to make allegations against Mariani.

Boulder police investigated the complaints, conducting more than 25 interviews. In late January, two officers tried to serve a warrant for Mariani’s arrest at his home. He left in a vehicle and was taken into custody after a traffic stop.

According to Nevada Department of Education records, Mariani’s teaching license remains active. He is still listed as a licensed educator for the Clark County School District at Boulder City High School for the 2025-26 school year, although the principal, Amy Wagner, previously said that he would not be allowed on campus.

Mariani taught sixth grade at the Innovations International Charter School from 2009 until 2010 and special education classes at Desert Pines High School from 2010 to 2023. While at Desert Pines, he was the football team’s offensive coordinator.

Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.