A 24-year-old Gardnerville man, employed as a school district basketball coach, was jailed on $25,000 cash bail Thursday, accused of trying to arrange sexual liaisons with 13-year-old girls via e-mail.
Benjamin Thomas Schuler was charged with luring a child under 14 years of age with the intent to persuade the child away from home.
The charge is a felony.
Douglas County Sheriff's Capt. Dan Britton said the suspect was arrested after it was discovered he had communicated with two 13-year-old girls via e-mail.
Britton said the messages were sexual in nature and Schuler had attempted to get one of the girls to come over to his house.
The e-mail was discovered by a family member.
Investigators said Schuler had previously inappropriately touched one of the girls who were not identified because of their age.
He is to be arraigned Friday morning in East Fork Justice Court.
Schuler's bail originally was $10,000 cash, but Deputy District Attorney Erik Levin requested it be raised to $25,000 cash because he considered Schuler a flight risk and danger to the community.
Britton urged any parents with information about the suspect to contact Deputy James Booth at 782-6299 and leave a message if he is unavailable.
