A few hours after East Fork Justice Jim EnEarl refused to lower bail or release youth coach Benjamin Thomas Schuler on his own recognizance, the 24-year-old Gardnerville man was released from Douglas County Jail after posting $25,000 cash bail.
Schuler is accused of trying to arrange sexual liaisons with 13- and 14-year-old girls via e-mail.
According to the criminal complaint, Schuler, formerly employed as a school district basketball coach, 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.
If convicted of the most serious offense, the penalty is up to life in prison.
Douglas County School District Interim Superintendent John Soderman said last week that Schuler was paid a stipend to coach basketball at Pau-Wa-Lu Middle School for three years, and was a volunteer at the school before that.
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.
Schuler's attorney Ron Cauley told EnEarl on Wednesday that his client's $25,000 cash bail was prohibitive and prevented his client from assisting in his defense.
Cauley said his client had been a Gardnerville resident his whole life and would live with his parents under any court-ordered supervision if released from jail.
"He has a lot of familial support," Cauley said. "Despite the shadow of the charges, Ben has a good reputation in the community, he's involved with his church and has a reputable, good character."
Cauley said Schuler had worked for 10 years at A Sign Shop, and his boss Neil Hill would vouch for him.
Cauley said the most important determination - community safety - would be guaranteed by his client's willingness to abide by court restrictions including house arrest and a global positioning monitoring system.
Schuler waived his right to a preliminary hearing within 15 days. Cauley said he would need one month, possibly two, to prepare his client's defense.
EnEarl set his next court appearance March 31.
Prosecutor Erik Levin said the charges were "serious, horrible allegations for an extremely horrible crime."
With the possibility of a life sentence upon conviction, the defendant had "very strong incentive" to flee," Levin said.
He said the community's safety was at risk.
"We're not alleging a single, isolated incident," Levin said. "These are multiple allegations with multiple victims. There may be other victims. This case is still under investigation. These are serious charges, about as serious as they get."
He said the state adamantly opposed a bail reduction.
"If anything, this warrants a bail increase. Bail as set is extremely generous," Levin said. "The state's case is extremely strong."
Conditions of bail 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.
Any parents with information about the suspect are asked to contact Investigator James Booth at 782-6299 and leave a message if he is unavailable.
