MARTINEZ — A former youth soccer coach has been charged with three felonies related to an undercover operation where he allegedly chatted with a cop posing as a 14-year-old girl.
Alejandro Sanchez, 28, was charged Thursday with contacting a minor for a sexual offenses, arranging to meet a minor for lewd purposes, and attempted lewd act upon a child, all felonies. Authorities say he attempted to meet the purported teen girl to have a sexual encounter, and was arrested after showing up to a park in Martinez.
Sanchez was arrested in January but prosecutors didn’t file charges against him until Thursday morning.
At the time of his arrest, Sanchez worked at the Lamorinda Soccer Club. The club offers programs for children across all age groups, and competes in tournaments across California. Sanchez got a job there after passing a background check, according to an email the club sent out to parents in January.
Authorities say they have no evidence Sanchez actually sexually abused any kids.
Prosecutors say during the conversations, Sanchez told the undercover cop posing as a teen girl, “you have a nice body,” and “we need to cuddle,” as well as expressing that he wanted to engage in sex acts with her.
The sting was one of many done by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, a coalition of federal and state law enforcement groups led by the San Jose Police Department.
Sanchez has not yet entered a plea. He posted bail shortly after his arrest and remains out of custody.
