Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
Court proceedings in the case of a basketball coach arrested for attempting to facilitate a child sex crime have been delayed for a month while authorities sift through the results of two new search warrants executed in the case.
Nicholas R. Bennett, 23, of Portland, Oregon, was arrested Oct. 17 after allegedly setting up a rendezvous with a 13-year-old boy for sex.
He was ordered held on a $100,000 cash bond and had been set for an adjourned initial court appearance on Tuesday.
At that appearance, his attorney, George Pappas, requested a one-month postponement.
Court records do not specify why the request was made, but the court appearance was rescheduled for Nov. 30.
Court records also show that authorities executed two search warrants in the weeks following Bennett’s arrest.
Court documents show the first warrant, on Oct. 22, focused on two green duffel bags and a cell phone owned by Bennett, while a subsequent warrant on Oct. 27 — the same day as the postponement request — focused on a PlayStation, USB drive, iPad and laptop.
The search warrants indicate authorities were looking for emails, texts, chatroom messages and other electronic communication, as well as any possible photos or videos that could be on the devices seized.
The warrants also indicate the possibility that the electronic devices could be storing child pornography, though Bennett has not been charged with that crime at this point.
The investigation is ongoing, authorities said.
Bennett is a basketball coach with Pro Shot Shooting Systems, which offers basketball camps and clinics in various venues across the U.S., including schools.
The company held a basketball camp at Sacred Heart Catholic School in Shawano on Oct. 13.
According to the criminal complaint, Bennett struck up an acquaintance with a 13-year-old boy during the camp.
Bennett asked for the boy’s cell phone number and began texting him the next day, according to the criminal complaint.
The texts came to the attention of the boy’s mother, who contacted the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department.
She told detectives the text messages were at first supportive of the young man’s athletic talent but gradually seemed suggestive.
Sheriff’s detectives took over the electronic communications with Bennett. As the conversations between Bennett and detectives continued, the texts became more suggestive and eventually sexually explicit, according to the complaint.
Bennett eventually suggested a meeting and was taken into custody when he arrived.
Bennett could face a maximum 40 years in prison and $100,000 fine if found guilty of using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, and 25 years and a $100,000 fine if convicted of attempted child enticement.