A former Banks, Ore., youth soccer coach who tried to contact and meet underage girls for sex during a law enforcement sting was sentenced Thursday in Clark County Superior Court to 30 days in jail.
Sean Stirling Dotson, 49, of Forest Grove, Ore., previously pleaded guilty to communicating with a minor for immoral purposes during the sting operation, which began in January.
Dotson was arrested in February, along with two other men, at a home in east Vancouver as part of an undercover operation by the Vancouver Police Department. In Dotson’s case, police placed an online ad posing as a 14-year-old girl named Julie who was skipping school and wanted to chat, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Superior Court.
Dotson responded to the ad Jan. 12, began exchanging messages with “Julie,” and those messages soon turned sexual in nature, the affidavit said.
Dotson then made plans to meet “Julie” on Jan. 14 but first asked her to send him a nude photo with her face, because he was concerned she may be law enforcement, court records said. “Julie” declined to send such a photo. However, Dotson still agreed to meet her and described what he would be wearing and driving, according to the affidavit.
He arrived at the residence shortly before noon and was contacted by police, who found Dotson had one condom in his pocket, court documents show. Dotson admitted to chatting with “Julie” and said he knew she was a minor, but he denied having any plans to have sex with her, the affidavit said.
Stephen Kiss, a board member and head coach of Banks Youth Soccer, confirmed in an email that Dotson coached his daughter’s 14-and-younger soccer team, and last coached in spring 2015. He said Dotson is no longer affiliated with Banks Youth Soccer and never had been elected to the board.
During sentencing, the attorneys told the court that Dotson was terminated from his job, where he worked in the information technology department, because some of his criminal conduct involved a work computer.
Deputy Prosecutor Kristine Duncan asked Judge David Gregerson to sentence Dotson to 30 days, and acknowledged he already had 29 days credit. Dotson potentially faced up to 90 days in jail. She said Dotson is under investigation for similar conduct in other jurisdictions.
Dotson’s defense attorney, Mark Muenster, said his client had already received a psycho-sexual evaluation and is receiving treatment. A pre-sentencing investigation found Dotson poses a low risk of re-offending.
Dotson told the court he will continue to go to treatment until his therapist determines he no longer needs to.
Gregerson agreed to follow the attorneys’ previously agreed-upon sentencing recommendation. Dotson was ordered not to have contact with minors, besides his biological children; cannot have access to the Internet; and must register as a sex offender for the next 10 years.
