A University City High School science teacher and cross country coach made his first court appearance after being arrested earlier this week for attempting to have sex with a teenage girl.
Sean Stevenson, 58, was denied bail because he is considered a flight risk and a danger to society, according to the judge.
Stevenson was arrested at a bus stop Tuesday morning where he had arranged to meet what he believed was a 16-year-old girl for sex. Stevenson was met there by an undercover agent who had been communicating with him for the last three weeks.
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San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force officers discovered Stevenson's cell phone on the phone of a prostitute they were investigating for an unrelated incident, according to prosecutors. In those tex conversations, Stevenson expressed his interest in finding a teenage girl for sex.
In early October, an undercover agent contacted Stevenson from a different phone number, pretending to be that same prostitute and asked him if he was still interested in meeting the underage girl. That's when the Tuesday morning meeting was set up, prosecutors allege.
Stevenson showed up at the bus stop with the cell phone that the agent had been communicating with him on and $140 that they had agreed to for the transaction, according to the complaint.
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Stevenson's mother was at Thursday's court hearing. She was sobbing hysterically, and told NBC 7 she was devastated and that she hadn't spoken to her son since his arrest but wanted to be at the hearing so he would see her.
If convicted, Stevenson faces anywhere from 10 years to life in prison.
