Martin Bilbao / Olympic (TNS)
A former Thurston County Youth Soccer League coach has been sentenced to 157.5 months to life in prison for attempting to rape a 13-year-old girl in Pierce County.
Desmond Clemons, a 35-year-old veteran, was sentenced by Judge Shelly Spear Moss during a Pierce County Superior Court hearing on Nov. 29.
A jury found Clemons guilty of five charges on October 18, including attempted second-degree rape of a child and four felony counts of communicating with a minor for immoral purposes. The jury also returned specific verdicts for each county finding that Clemons “used a position of trust” to commit the crimes, according to court records.
Clemons reportedly began messaging the 13-year-old girl in July 2022 and was arrested by DuPont Police on September 1, 2022. Court records indicate Clemons previously coached the girl through the Thurston County Youth Soccer League from approximately June 2021 until May 2022 .
In a statement emailed to The Olympian, TCYFL President Tim Claridge confirmed that Clemons served as a volunteer coach during the 2021 season, which ran from Aug. 2 to Oct. 31. Clemons also signed up as a volunteer for the 2022 season on August 1 of that year.
“Upon notification of his arrest on September 1, 2022, Clemons was immediately relieved of any and all responsibilities he had as a TCYFL volunteer,” Claridge said.
Clemons also ran a youth athletic training program that was not affiliated with the TCYFL, Clemons said. Some of Clemon’s clients became aware of the program through his relationships with TCYFL, Claridge said.
All volunteers are required to complete a criminal background check, USA Football certification and TCYFL certification, Claridge said. At the start of the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Claridge said Clemons met the criteria for that process.
Claridge said the league has provided a “positive environment” for more than 3,000 youth in the community each season for more than 50 years. Claridge said that the league intends to continue its efforts to qualify more than 1,200 volunteers.
“Clemmons’ actions are reprehensible and in no way condoned by TCYFL, nor do they represent the type of volunteers we strive to have in our organization,” Claridge said.
Clemons was transferred to the custody of the Washington State Department of Corrections on Tuesday, according to the Pierce County Jail roster. Court records show he has no known criminal history other than this recent conviction.
Investigation
The probable cause statement describes the investigation into Clemmons’ actions from a law enforcement perspective.
A DuPont police officer contacted the girl’s mother on Aug. 29, 2022. The mother reported that Clemons used TikTok, Instagram and text messages to send inappropriate communications to her daughter, according to the statement.
On July 20, Clemons reportedly contacted the girl on TikTok to tell her he liked her videos. He also said he missed her and liked her profile picture, court records say.
On July 31, Clemons contacted the girl on Instagram to tell her he had taken her helmet from a warehouse for safekeeping. He also said he wanted to say something to her but was “too scared.”
On August 27, the girl received text messages from an unknown number. The person who sent them identified himself as “DES” and told her he was “obsessed” with her and wanted them to be “together,” the statement said.
The girl informed her mother by text message the next morning.
The mother reportedly told police that she had previously been on friendly terms with Clemons while coaching her daughter. However, the mother said she ended the training sessions after Clemons complained to her daughter about their “friendship issues.”
A detective with the Washington State Patrol’s Missing and Exploited Children Task Force began sending text messages to Clemons using the girl’s phone on August 31. During their exchanges, the statement said Clemons described sexual acts he wanted to perform with the girl.
The detective, still acting as the girl, invited Clemons to the girl’s home on September 1. Clemons was arrested at the scene in possession of the condoms.
A trial summary filed by Connor Gibson, Clemons’ defense attorney, says Clemons never discussed “sex, sexual acts or sexual topics” in any of his messages with the girl. The synopsis indicates that sex was only brought up by the detective who “lured” Clemons to the girl’s home.
After his arrest, the brief says Clemons only wanted a “relationship” with the girl and denied any desire to have sex with her.
A search of Clemons’ cell phones reportedly yielded nothing of “probative significance” other than the messages involved in the case, according to the brief.