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Derek Sheehan, age 51, a former Norwell youth football coach in Plymouth County, was sentenced to 45 years in prison and five years of supervised release after pleading guilty over the summer to three counts of sexual exploitation of children.
“Mr. Sheehan abused his status as a youth football coach to prey on vulnerable children. He manipulated and sexually exploited them for months, and for that he will spend the rest of his life behind bars,” acting US Attorney Nathaniel Mendell said.
“There are few crimes deserving of a life sentence, and this is one of them. We do all we can to protect our children and ensure their safety, as this case shows.”
Mendell said that in June 2018, one of Sheehan’s minor victims reported to police that the coach had sexually abused him, prompting an investigation by local law enforcement.
On Aug. 17, 2018, a search of Sheehan’s Norwell home led to the seizure of electronics that had child pornography on them. Analysis of those devices included depictions of Sheehan, who was an active coach at the time, sexually abusing three minors while they slept at his home on multiple occasions.
The videos were taken between March 2017 and July 2018. All three victims were either 11 or 12 years old at the time of the abuse.
“Adults who use their access to children for their own sexual gratification, like former football coach Derek Sheehan did, are both a danger and a disgrace,” Joseph Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Boston Division stated. What Derek Sheehan did is absolutely horrific, and the impact on his victims is immeasurable.
“While today’s sentencing cannot erase that harm, it ensures he will remain behind bars for a very long time, unable to victimize anyone else, ever again,” he added. "The FBI and our law enforcement partners will never stop working to put predators like him behind bars.”
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