The Woodbury Math and Science Academy badminton coach has been arrested and charged with seeking to pay for sex from someone he believed was a minor.
Jamey Scott Ralph Strand, 44, of River Falls, Wis., was taken into custody Sunday after allegedly trying to meet with a 14-year-old girl who turned out to be a detective with the Mankato Police Department. He was charged Tuesday in Blue Earth County District Court with soliciting a child through electronic communication to engage in sexual conduct.
He’s scheduled to make an initial appearance on the charge on Thursday. An attorney is not listed in his court file to address the allegations.
According to the criminal complaint, the undercover detective on Aug. 14 logged into an online chat room and listed his gender as an 18-year-old woman. The minimum age the chat room allows a user to select is 18.
Strand, who went by the username OkobojiM4F, reached out first. The detective told Strand that he was a 14-year-old girl and in the ninth grade. Strand responded with, “Cool, Im (sic) ok with that if you are,” the complaint alleges.
The undercover detective asked Strand if they could change to the social networking app Kik, and he agreed. Strand then sent a photo of himself and asked for photos of her.
Strand, on several occasions, then mentioned wanting to perform sex acts on her, while also asking for a bra size and if she wore thong underwear. Strand asked, “ever taken naughty pics?” and wrote that he could “teach you sexual stuff,” the complaint continues.
Strand then asked the purported girl if she wanted to go to his cabin in Iowa and stay the night with him. He offered to pick her up in Mankato.
A meeting was scheduled for Aug. 19, but Strand did not show up; he said he panicked and that maybe they could try again when he drove through Mankato.
On Sunday, Strand reached out again and asked to meet up. He was arrested after a traffic stop in St. Peter.
In an interview at the county jail, Strand admitted that his messages with who he thought was a 14-year-old girl were “sexual in nature” and that the purpose of meeting up would be to have sex, the complaint says. Strand said his plan was to take the girl back to his camper in Iowa, as his wife was going to be gone for a few days.
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Strand also admitted to communicating with who he thought were two other girls under the age of 16, the complaint says.
According to Math and Science Academy executive director Kate Hinton, Strand was the charter school’s badminton coach last season.
“Math and Science Academy was recently made aware of the arrest of a staff member for alleged criminal conduct unrelated to school activities,” Hinton said. “This individual has been terminated immediately and will have no further affiliation with the school. Our top priority is the safety and well-being of our students. We are cooperating fully with law enforcement and have made counseling staff available to support any students who may need it.
Nick Ferraro contributed to this report.
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