New Hartford Coach Accused Of Sending Inappropriate Texts To Teens: Police

NEW HARTFORD, CT — A youth soccer and basketball coach is facing charges that he sent inappropriate text messages and images to two teen athletes he coached.

Jason Stimson, 51, of Haley Lane, Windham, turned himself in to state police on Aug. 22. He was charged on a warrant with two counts of risk of injury to a child and two counts of harmful communication with a minor.

Stimson is free on $10,000 bail and is not allowed to have unsupervised contact with anyone under age 16. Stimson’s next court date is Nov. 4.

He has not yet entered any plea, according to the state Judicial Branch website.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, state police launched an investigation after receiving information that Stimson had been sexting two girls he coaches for soccer earlier this year.

The girls were ages 14 and 15 at the time, police said.

Stimson has coached basketball for the Regional 7 school district, but he was informed he would not be allowed to do so once the investigation was underway, the warrant shows.

Police said the coach is accused of also sending inappropriate photos of himself in underwear to the youths.

State police said Stimson also sent follow-up messages “emphatically apologizing for the pictures.” In messages obtained by police, he attributed his texts to drinking, which he called a factor in his decisions and actions, the warrant shows.