OMAHAÌý— A former youth soccer coach was sentenced Tuesday in Sarpy County District Court to five to eight years in prisonÌýafter pleading no contest to attempted enticement of a child.
Kyle Marek, 48, of Omaha entered a plea agreement with the Sarpy County Attorney's Office in April. In exchange for Marek's plea, a charge of child enticement was amended to attempted enticement. A charge of tampering with a witness was dismissed.
Marek is a former coach for the Gretna Elite Academy Soccer Club and a former assistant coach for the Papillion-La Vista Community Schools. Prosecutors said Marek sent inappropriate Snapchat messages to two juveniles, then 14 and 15 years old, between March and April 2021.
"Marek used his role as coach to gain influence and access to the victims," said Bonnie Moore, the chief deputy in the Sarpy County Attorney's Office. "Today, the victims had the opportunity to be heard. It took a lot of courage for them to come forward and face the defendant in court."
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Annette Eyman, a spokeswoman for the Papillion-La Vista Schools, said after Marek's arrest in May 2021 that the juveniles involved were not believed to be students in the district. Marek, who was not otherwise employed by the district, was terminated after his arrest.