Authorities on Tuesday arrested a University City High School science teacher and coach as he attempted to meet up with a person he believed was a 16-year-old girl being sold for sex.
Sean Stevenson, 58, had actually been coordinating a meeting with an undercover agent from a federal human trafficking task force, according to a criminal complaint and search warrant filed Tuesday in federal court in San Diego.
Stevenson faces a charge of attempted enticement of a minor and is expected to make an initial appearance in court Wednesday. It was not immediately clear if he was being represented by an attorney who could comment on his behalf, and he did not immediately return an email to his school address seeking comment. It was unclear if he was still in custody Tuesday evening.
Principal Mike Paredes sent an email to University City High families and staff Tuesday evening informing them of the situation, according to a San Diego Unified School District spokesperson.
“At UCHS, our first priority is to provide a safe and secure learning environment for our students. We also believe in communicating openly with our students and parents about incidents that affect our campus,” Paredes wrote. “Following a federal investigation, science teacher and cross country coach Sean Stevenson was arrested off campus today on charges of Attempted Enticement of a Minor. Although the charges are unrelated to our school, students, and district, San Diego Unified and its Police Department are supporting investigators as needed.”
Stevenson teaches environmental science and biology at the high school. He’s also the head coach of the Centurions’ boys cross country team and a varsity assistant for track and field, according to the school’s athletics website.
Officers with the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force arrested Stevenson on Tuesday morning in the Talmadge neighborhood after he arrived to a previously agreed upon parking lot meeting location, according to the complaint and warrant. He allegedly had $140 in cash, the same amount that he’d agreed to pay for oral sex from the person he believed was a teenager.
When the undercover officer called the phone number the officer had been communicating with, Stevenson’s Samsung smartphone began ringing, according to the complaint.
The investigation into Stevenson began in a roundabout way in April, when police responded to a report of a robbery at a 7-Eleven convenience store and encountered a 16-year-old trafficking victim, according to the court documents. The girl told police that her pimp and his “bottom” — a pimp’s most trusted prostitute — had assaulted her.
A few days later, officers from the human trafficking task force arrested the pimp and his other prostitute at a motel in the San Bernardino area, seizing their phones as evidence, according to the court documents. During a later search of the woman’s phone, officers found messages between her and a number with a San Diego area code discussing the procurement of an underage girl for sex.
Earlier this month, the undercover officer reignited the conversation, texting the other person while pretending to be the prostitute and saying that her 16-year-old cousin was looking to make some money as a prostitute, court records show.
“Oh (expletive), yes!” the texter allegedly responded when told her age. Later, he allegedly texted: “Ok. Well I’m interested in her for sure!”
As the conversation continued over text for several weeks, investigators linked the number to Stevenson and determined that one of the vehicles registered to him had been spotted driving back and forth earlier this year along a stretch of National City roadway known for street prostitution, according to the court records.
After a few weeks of exchanging messages in which he repeatedly asked for pictures of the teen, the texter agreed to meet at 7 a.m. Tuesday for a “car date,” according to the complaint and warrant. But when he arrived, law enforcement was waiting to arrest him.
Stevenson faces 10 years to life in prison if convicted.
