Hearing continued for accused youth coach

A hearing is continued until April 7 for a 24-year-old Gardnerville youth coach accused of trying to arrange sexual encounters with 13- and 14-year-old girls using e-mail.

Benjamin Thomas Schuler, formerly employed as a Douglas County school district basketball coach, is charged with lewdness with a child under 14, luring a child with the intent to engage in sexual conduct and luring a child.

According to the criminal complaint, Schuler, is accused of inappropriately touching a 13-year-old girl through her clothing on Jan. 22; sending an e-mail to the same girl on Feb. 24 trying to entice her to come to his home to engage in sexual conduct; and asking a 14-year-old between Jan. 17-Feb. 5 to sneak out of her home and "hang out" with him.f

If convicted of the most serious offense, the penalty is up to life in prison.

Schuler also has retained lawyer Tod Young. Attorney Ron Cauley represented the defendant in preliminary court appearances.

Schuler was released from Douglas County Jail earlier this month on $25,000 bail.

Bail conditions include no contact with the alleged victims, no alcohol or controlled substances, subject to search and seizure for controlled substances, alcohol or child pornography, electronic monitoring, no weapons and supervision by the Department of Alternative Sentencing.

Schuler was arrested Feb. 25 after the allegations came to light.

The e-mail messages were discovered by a family member of one of the alleged victims.

Interim School Superintendent John Soderman said Schuler was paid a stipend to coach basketball at Pau-Wa-Lu Middle School for three years, and was a school volunteer. Soderman said Schuler was coach of the boys' eighth-grade team and girl's seventh-grade team this year, but that his contract expired at the end of the basketball season.

He said Schuler would have been suspended pending the outcome of the criminal investigation had his contract not expired.