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A high school soccer coach who also worked as a rideshare driver was arrested for human trafficking after a 17-year-old girl called police and said she was being sold for sex, authorities in California said.

Elan Daniel Seagraves, 34, of Sacramento, was arrested on Christmas Day after the teen contacted the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department and said she was sexually assaulted and being forced into human trafficking, sheriff officials said in a news release.

The girl told deputies she was hiding in the back yard of a home in south Sacramento at the time and that the man responsible for forcing her into performing sex acts for money was waiting for her in a nearby vehicle, sheriff officials said.

Responding deputies then found Seagraves in a car with another girl who was also 17. Both girls were victims of human trafficking, authorities said.

Investigators learned that Seagraves had worked as the boys’ soccer coach at Kennedy High School in Sacramento, as well as a coach and referee for various local youth soccer leagues. He also worked as a driver for both Uber and Lyft, according to sheriff officials.

Seagraves, who was arrested on charges related to human trafficking and pimping of a minor, remained held on $2 million bail as of Monday, jail records show. He’s scheduled to return to court Thursday, the Sacramento Bee reports.

There’s no indication that the allegations are connected to Seagraves’ role as a soccer coach or driver, but authorities want to talk to anyone who had interactions with him, KTXL reports.

“It’s absolutely 100 percent alarming,” Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Shaun Hampton told the station. “We want to encourage, regardless of the circumstances, regardless of any other things they may be involved in, it’s important to come forward.”

School district officials, meanwhile, said they were disappointed in Seagraves’ “unacceptable” behavior.

“While he passed a background check and had no prior offenses when we hired him to coach soccer in our district, we expect more appropriate behavior from someone we trusted to work with our kids,” according to a statement released by the Sacramento City Unified School District. “Mr. Seagraves will no longer be allowed to work with our kids in any capacity.”

Seagraves also holds a teaching credential and has worked in the past as a substitute teacher and an instructional aide, according to the Sacramento Bee, citing a government watchdog group called Transparent California.

An Uber official also confirmed that Seagraves had worked as a driver and passed a background check in accordance with state law. He has since been removed from the rideshare service, the Sacramento Bee reported.

Seagraves’ Lyft account has also been “immediately disabled,” according to company officials.

“These allegations are incredibly disturbing,” Lyft officials told the newspaper in a statement. “Our concern is with the victims, and we stand ready to assist law enforcement in any way that we can.”

 

Source: NY Post