Former Basketball Coach Sentenced to 90 Months in Prison for Sending Sexually Explicit Photos to Students

ST. LOUIS - U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Wednesday sentenced a former high school basketball coach to 90 months in prison for sending sexually explicit photos to students and engaging in sexually explicit conversations with them.

Lee Anthony Bogan Jr., 29, was working at a St. Louis area high school at the time. Bogan, known as "Coach Teejay," used a social media application to contact high school students beginning in the spring of 2024. Bogan sent photos of his genitals and expressed romantic and sexual interest in the students, seeking to gauge their responses. Bogan was unaware that the minors took screen shots of the explicit photos before they disappeared.

In court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Dianna Edwards said that the students interrupted Bogan's attempt to groom them by reporting his conduct.

Bogan pleaded guilty in February to one count of attempting to receive child pornography. He will be on supervised release for life after his release from prison.

The Ladue Police Department and the St. Louis County Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dianna Edwards is prosecuting 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. 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 https://www.justice.gov/psc.