ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A former girls' athletic coach at a New Mexico high school has been convicted of federal charges involving child pornography and coercion and enticement of a minor.
Federal prosecutors say 31-year-old Jonathon Bindues used his former position as the coach of girls' basketball and track teams at Los Lunas High School south of Albuquerque to gain special access to minor females between September 2020 and June 2021.
A federal grand jury in Albuquerque indicted him in March 2022. A jury convicted him Friday after a few hours of deliberations on one count each of production of child pornography and coercion and enticement of a minor.
Prosecutors say he exchanged more than 17,000 text messages with a freshman on teams he coached, requesting nude images of her and repeatedly encouraging her to delete the messages.
Her mother discovered the sexually explicit messages on the girl's phone and reported them to New Mexico state police.
"This man, who was entrusted to mentor young people, was in actuality a predator of vulnerable girls," said Amy Kaskel, FBI acting special agent in charge.
U.S. Attorney Alexander Uballez praised the "bravery, fortitude and resilience" of the girl and her family for coming forward to report the crimes.
"Her strength in facing her abuser and sharing her story is nothing short of heroic," he said. "Our children deserve schools and sports free of sexual predation."
Bindues faces up to life in prison on the coercion and enticement charge and between 15 and 30 years on the child pornography charge at his pending sentencing before U.S. District Judge James O. Browning in federal court in Albuquerque.