A Holly youth soccer coach has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of transporting a 15-year-old minor for criminal sexual activity, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Michigan announced Thursday, April 23.
Chason Pointer, 42, of Grand Blanc, allegedly preyed on a minor online and then traveled across state lines to the child’s Sylvania, Ohio, home where he picked up the teen, and back to a Fenton hotel, where the defendant and the child were found on April 3 by Fenton police and the FBI, according to the criminal complaint.
“Creeps lurk online and prey on our children. They want to hurt them just as this man allegedly did. And we are in a race to stop these monsters,” said U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon in a release.
The grand jury in Flint indicted Pointer on charges of transporting a minor for criminal sexual activity and coercion and enticement of a minor on April 15. Pointer pleaded not guilty during his arraignment and he was ordered detained pending trial.
Each charge carries a term of 10 years to life, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office release does not identify the team or club Pointer was coaching.
Pointer discussed sexual activity with the minor through both Reddit and Snapchat beginning on March 30, according to the criminal complaint. He later made plans and traveled to Ohio where he met the teen, and traveled back to Fenton with them.
“The acts described in this indictment are disturbing. The child in this case was specifically targeted, posing a danger to the minor and to our communities across both states,” Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office Jennifer Runyan said.
Federal officials say anyone with relevant information to contact the Detroit FBI Field Office at 313-965-2323 or send email to tips.fbi.gov.
Jalen Williams is a trending reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jawilliams1@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan youth soccer coach indicted in child sex abuse investigation
Reporting by Jalen Williams, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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