California teacher who tried to meet teenage girl for sex sentenced to 10 years in prison

A former University City High School science teacher and running coach who was arrested last year while trying to meet what he thought was a 16-year-old girl for sex was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in federal prison and 15 years of supervised release.

Sean Michael Stevenson, 59, pleaded guilty in June to attempted seduction of a minor for agreeing to pay $140 for sex acts with someone he believed to be an underage girl, although the person Stevenson arranged the meeting with was actually an undercover law enforcement officer.

Stevenson was arrested around 7 a.m. on Oct. 24, a school day, after arriving at the arranged meeting place in the Talmadge neighborhood with $140 in his car.

U.S. District Judge Anthony Battaglia said Stevenson’s case contained “very disturbing” facts and that such cases were “the most unpleasant” the court had seen. The judge said the prison sentence, the mandatory minimum for such a crime, was appropriate both to punish Stevenson and to deter others from committing the same crime.

Stevenson must register as a sex offender. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dismissed a charge against Stevenson for allegedly possessing sexually explicit images of children on his electronic devices, but Battaglia ordered him to pay $3,000 in restitution to each of the four victims depicted in the images.

“Mr. Stevenson’s determination to purchase sex from a minor is appalling,” U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath said in a statement. “Thankfully, he was stopped before he harmed a child. Today’s sentence reflects the depth of our commitment to protecting vulnerable people from exploitation.”

Stevenson spoke only briefly Thursday, telling the judge he felt bad about his actions and wanted to take advantage of the treatment sex offenders receive in prison. He vowed he would never get in trouble with the law again.

“Mr. Stevenson feels immense remorse for his conduct … and has accepted that his life as he knew it, including his career and much of his freedom, is over,” his attorney, Dana Grimes, wrote in a sentencing document.

Stevenson taught environmental science and biology at University City High. He was also the head coach of the Centurions boys cross country team and was a varsity track and field assistant, according to the school’s athletics website at the time of his arrest.

“There is no evidence of inappropriate relationships with minors during his entire coaching or teaching career,” Grimes wrote in the sentencing memorandum. Stevenson had taught at the high school for nine years, according to his attorney.