Michigan: Ex-soccer coach gets jail after Internet sex sting
10/30/07. By John Tunison. The Grand Rapids Press
Grand Haven - The Internet became an addiction for Kevin Wolters.
Specifically, the 36-year-old Holland man was hooked on "Internet sex," as his attorney described it Monday in an Ottawa County courtroom.
The problem continued until he caught the attention of two Internet crime task forces created to nab predators.
Wolters, a former boys soccer coach at Holland Calvary Schools, was sentenced Monday in Ottawa County Circuit Court to 270 days in jail for using a computer to accost a child for immoral purposes and using a computer to disseminate sexually explicit material to a minor.
He was placed on five years' probation and, during that time, may not have access to a computer nor be in contact with minors unless another adult is present. He must register as a sex offender.
Police said Wolters tried to solicit online what he thought were two 14-year-old girls. They turned out to be undercover officers with the State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Macomb Area Computer Enforcement Team.
During more than a month of online chatting in February and March, Wolters sent sexually explicit images of himself and talked about meeting to "engage in erotic fondling," according to a Macomb County prosecutor.
He was arrested in early April. Wolters' attorney, Robert Hamilton, said Wolters has been in sex-offender counseling since June 1. He was out on bond before being sentenced to the jail term Monday.
"This was, frankly, a situation where Mr. Wolters was addicted to anonymous Internet sex rather than seeking out a young woman," Hamilton said. "This was not a problem with someone who was a pedophile. "It's just something that got out of hand, a bad habit that became an addiction," he said.
In court Monday, Wolters made a broad apology.
Wolters was a 15-year coach with the Calvary Schools boys soccer team, serving as assistant coach for nine years and head coach for six years. Police said there was no evidence he had any inappropriate contact with soccer players.
Monday's sentence stemmed from charges through the state police task force. Wolters earlier was sentenced to a jail term in the Detroit area for contact with the Macomb task force.
Send e-mail to the author: jtunison@grpress.com
Retrieved October 31, 2007 from http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-38/1193770610172490.xml&coll=6&thispage=1