SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A former assistant high school wrestling coach who molested a 15-year-old girl and sent a lewd photo of himself to another teen was sentenced Friday to 1 1/2 years in jail and ordered to register as a sex offender.
Ryan Carnell, 29, was also placed on five years probation.
The defendant pleaded guilty to molesting the 15-year-old and no contest to sending a picture of his genitals to a 16-year-old girl, a former statistician for the Westview High School wrestling team.
Superior Court Judge David Danielsen - in weighing jail versus state prison, said the community might be safer if Carnell did time in local custody and received treatment for his problems.
Even though prison time was not imposed, Carnell clearly deserved it, the judge said. He said Carnell was dishonest with his family, friends and doctors about what he was really up to.
"Ryan Carnell today is a sneaky, selfish, manipulative human being," whose goal it was to have sex with an underage girl, the judge said.
Carnell is not a pedophile and is not mentally ill, but does have some character disorders, the judge said.
Deputy District Attorney Dan Link read a letter from the father of one of the victims, who said it was his daughter's decision to come forward.
The father said he couldn't imagine why the defendant would want to rob his daughter of her innocence.
"What about your wife?" the father asked in the letter. "I think you're getting off easy."
Link told the judge that both victims have suffered psychological damage.
"They trusted this defendant," the prosecutor said.
Carnell used the fact that he had a troubled marriage and epileptic son to lure the girls in, Link said.
A week before he went into custody, Carnell found out where the 15-year-old victim worshipped and contacted a religious leader there, the prosecutor said.
Carnell told the leader what acts he had committed and said he was also concerned for the girl and felt she needed to repent for her sins, Link told the judge.
The 15-year-old girl lodged her accusation against Carnell last December while he was awaiting sentencing for sending the lewd photo to the 16-year-old girl.
During a preliminary hearing on that charge, the 16-year-old testified that she exchanged text messages with the defendant up to 10 hours a day.
His messages became sexual in nature and led to him sending her a photograph of his penis with the comment, "Don't be disappointed," prosecutors said.
Carnell was arrested when the girl's friend told a teacher about the message.
The 15-year-old girl said she was molested at an off-campus location in February 2009.
Former high school wrestling coach sentenced to 1 1/2 years in jail for molesting teen
