Texas Track Coach Pleads Guilty to Assaulting a Minor during College Visit to Tulsa

A Killeen, Texas, private track coach and retired U.S. Army sergeant first class pleaded guilty Tuesday to transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity during a college visit in June 2017, announced U.S. Attorney Trent Shores.

In his plea agreement, Kerry Sloan, 56, of Harker Heights, Texas, admitted that when he drove the victim from Killeen to Tulsa for meetings with college coaches, he intended to engage in sexual activity with the victim without her consent at a Tulsa hotel. He also admitted that he ultimately did sexually assault the victim. After a 911 call was made on the return trip, the vehicle the two were traveling in was stopped by Pittsburg County Sheriff’s deputies, who were able to rescue the victim. During the ensuing investigation, victims dating back to 1990 came forward to report similar incidents involving Sloan.

“Kerry Sloan was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He portrayed himself to parents and children as a trustworthy and caring mentor when in reality he was a danger to young girls,” said U.S. Attorney Shores. “During the course of this prosecution, even more victims than we were originally aware of came forward, claiming to have been groomed and assaulted by Mr. Sloan. His days of preying on unsuspecting families and their daughters are over. Federal prison is his next stop.”

U.S. District Judge Claire V. Eagan accepted the plea and scheduled Sloan’s sentencing for June 26, 2019. At that time, he faces a possible minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison; he further faces a maximum fine of $250,000. Sloan was permitted to remain on bond pending the sentencing hearing. While on bond, he will be heavily monitored by the U.S. Probation Office.

The Pittsburg County Sheriff’s Office, Killeen and Tulsa Police Departments and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation. U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Nassar prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.