An athletic trainer in New York has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after being convicted of enticement of a minor.
Austin Pratt, 32, was in an ongoing relationship with a minor from November 2018 to February 2019, while working as a school athletic trainer.
Prosecutors said that he communicated with the minor via social media and convinced the minor to have a sexual relationship and exchange explicit photos.
According to the local ABC affiliate, Pratt was arrested by state police in January of 2019. He was charged with rape and criminal sex acts. He was also accused at that time of having a sexual encounter with a minor in December of 2018.
Pratt worked for UR Medicine Thompson Health since 2015. He was contracted out as an athletic trainer for the Geneseo Central School District where the victim attended high school. He has since been fired from UR Medicine Thompson Health.
The victim’s father discovered the relationship by reading text messages between Pratt and the minor.
Prosecutors say the text messages from Pratt included the following: “This is crazy to me for only knowing you for a few weeks and I’m not sure how to navigate these feelings as obviously I’m married and our age difference which plays a huge role in all of this. I love talking to you and being around you and all I want is to be with you. I hate the fact that I am 16 years older than you and that we have to hide and be sneaky.”
