PORT ANGELES — A former Sequim High School volunteer girls basketball coach was sentenced to 60 days — 30 in jail and 30 on home monitoring — after pleading guilty Thursday to communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.
Jerry Jeff Pedersen, 29, is scheduled to report to the Clallam County jail today at 10 a.m.
Clallam County Superior Court Judge Erik Rohrer imposed a more severe sentence than Clallam County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Michele Devlin had sought.
Devlin had recommended 60 days’ home monitoring so Pedersen could continue working to pay court fines.
Rohrer, who noted that he was not limited by the prosecution’s recommendation, said he would not impose a sentence that did not include incarceration.
“Mr. Pedersen was in a position of trust. He abused that trust — not one time; it was continuous,” he said.
Because Pedersen has no prior conviction record, the standard sentencing range for the charge is one to three months.
In addition to the 60-day sentence, Pedersen will be required to pay $890 in court fees and fines.
Class C felony
The charge is a Class C felony, which carries a maximum sentence of five years and a fine of up to $10,000.
Pedersen coached for the team as an unpaid volunteer assistant to head coach Evan Still.
According to a Sequim police investigation that spanned March 1-23, Pedersen and the girl, who was then 15, exchanged text messages and nude pictures over their cellphones daily.
Police said Pedersen had a “boyfriend and girlfriend” relationship with the player he coached last season.
Pedersen was arrested April 1 and released the next day. County prosecutors filed charges April 10.
He initially pleaded not guilty to the charges in May.
On Aug. 21, he pleaded guilty to five counts of communicating with a minor for immoral purposes, which was reduced to a single count Thursday after he had asked the court this month for a reduction.
Pedersen is forbidden from having contact with girls younger than 18 unless they are supervised by adults aware of the charges.
He is also ordered to stay away from schools, particularly Sequim High, from which he graduated in 2004.
He has no prior conviction for sexual offenses.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
