Ex-Basketball Coach Arrested for Texting Player

A former boys basketball coach at North Collier Regional Park was arrested Wednesday after deputies say he sent a sexually explicit text message to a boy he was coaching and offered money to children in exchange for pictures of them wearing only compression shorts.

Brandon Stetson, 23, of North Naples, faces two felony charges of transmitting an image of a sex act to a minor and using a computer to seduce/solicit/lure a child. He was booked at the Naples Jail Center on $200,000 bond.

On Nov. 12, Collier County Sheriff's Office deputies received a suspicious incident report saying Stetson "was soliciting boys that he was coaching into sending him pictures of their genitals for money," according to an arrest report.

Deputies spoke with "several of the juveniles" and didn't receive any victim disclosures or find any evidence on their cellphones indicating that a crime had occurred, the report stated.

On Tuesday a deputy received an email from the supervisor of park rangers from North Collier Regional Park stating that a staff member had reported that two male juveniles had disclosed that Stetson "had offered $200 for pictures of them wearing only their compression shorts," according to the report.

One of the children told park staff that Stetson sent him a picture of himself in compression shorts and asked the boy what he thought, the report stated.

The same child also said Stetson requested to see him in person with just his compression shorts on and offered to give him money or gifts if he would follow through, according to the report.

On Wednesday deputies talked to the 14-year-old who told them Stetson was his basketball coach and had asked for his Snapchat user ID, the report stated.

The victim told deputies Stetson would often message him via Snapchat - a social media application that allows users to send pictures and videos - and send him text messages.

Stetson had asked the 14-year-old for photos of him "wearing only his boxer shorts" and told the boy that he would pay him for the pictures, according to the report. The victim told deputies that he refused.

The boy told deputies he no longer talks to Stetson but said he still had text messages on his cellphone.

One text message was an image showing a woman performing a sex act on a man, the report stated. Stetson then had texted the victim stating, "What do you see!! Lol do you need one," according to the report. The boy responded with "No."

Deputies then made contact with Stetson and conducted a sworn noncustodial interview. Stetson told deputies he was a coach for North Collier Regional Park but that they had called him Tuesday and informed him he couldn't coach there anymore, the report stated.

Stetson told deputies "there was a rumor that he was asking children for pictures" and that he had sent a child a picture of himself wearing "compression pants" via Snapchat, according to the report.

When deputies showed Stetson the sexually explicit picture he had sent to the boy, he said that he did send the photo but that it was a joke.

Stetson acknowledged to deputies that sending the photo was inappropriate, because the victim was too young, the report states.

Collier County spokeswoman Kate Albers said Stetson was a volunteer and that the county completed a background check on him. Stetson coached three teams of children between the ages of 8 and 15 years old, Albers said.

On Tuesday, Director of Collier's Parks and Recreation Division Barry Williams sent Stetson an email confirming that he wished to end the department's arrangement with Stetson as a volunteer coach and asked him to "discontinue any interactions with the team assigned" to him "effective immediately."

In an emailed statement Thursday, Collier spokesman Mike Sheffield said the county takes "these matters very seriously."

"Upon becoming aware of this situation, Parks and Recreation staff took immediate action, first by notifying the Collier County Sheriff's Office and then by removing Stetson from his role as a volunteer coach," Sheffield wrote. "We are working closely with the sheriff's office in their investigation."

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