Former high school teacher pleads guilty to seeking sex with teenage girl

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — A former science teacher and cross-country coach at University City High School arrested last year for trying to meet a teenage girl for sexual purposes pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal charge of attempted incitement against a minor.

Sean Stevenson, 58, was looking to pay $140 for sex acts with someone he believed to be a 16-year-old girl. However, the person Stevenson arranged the meeting with was actually an undercover police officer.

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Stevenson was arrested Oct. 24 after arriving at the arranged meeting location with $140 in his car.

According to court documents, the investigation into Stevenson began with the arrest of a pimp and a prostitute in April 2023. After searching the prostitute's cell phone, investigators found text messages between her and a San Diego area phone number that prosecutors say belongs to Stevenson.

The user of the San Diego cell number offered the woman “a finder's fee … if she could provide him with an underage prostitute,” court documents state.

The U.S. Attorney's Office says Stevenson told the woman, “The younger the better” and “Keep that in mind if you meet high school-age girls.”

An undercover agent then posed as the prostitute and, in messages with Stevenson, propositioned her 16-year-old cousin for sex.

Following Thursday's change of plea, Stevenson is expected to be sentenced in September.

San Diego U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath said in a statement: “Instead of a protector, this teacher became a predator. These despicable acts betray the trust of students, parents and the entire community. »

— City press service