Prosecutors are asking for the maximum prison sentence for a former Central New York track coach who admitted to exploiting young girls.

The 32-year-old cross country coach, Martin Nicholson, of Geddes, was arrested in 2018. He interacted with high school student-athletes at Bishop Ludden, Jordan-Elbridge and Westhill school districts, law enforcement officials have said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Fletcher wrote in court documents that Nicholson should serve 30 years in federal prison.

Fletcher noted in a sentencing memorandum submitted to U.S. District Court Judge Thomas McAvoy that as a coach, Nicholson was trusted by schools, parents and students.

“As a high school track coach, [he] was entrusted to guide and influence young girls, to leave a lasting impact on their lives,” Fletcher wrote. “... Nicholson’s lasting impact is one of shame and degradation. Instead of lifting up his athletes, Nicholson used his position of trust to foster sexual relationships at two of the schools where he coached.”

Nicholson admitted last year in federal court to coercing a teen into producing child pornography of a younger girl.

He was also charged by state police with using a child in sexual performance, possession of child pornography, sharing child pornography, unlawful surveillance and unlawful sex act.

Nicholson repeatedly sexually exploited a teenager with whom he had a relationship, prosecutors said in court records. He manipulated that teenager to produce sexually-explicit images of a girl younger than 14 years old, without the younger girl knowing it, prosecutors said.

Nicholson threatened to end the relationship with the older girl if she did not stealthily take photos of the other victim, prosecutors said.

Investigators discovered Nicholson had catalogued 44 images of the younger girl into folders on flash drive, court records said.

“As profound as these offenses are, Nicholson did not stop there,” prosecutor Fletcher wrote. “He took the images produced for him [by the older girl] and share them with at least one like-minded anonymous person on the Internet, leaving [the younger girl] to know, for the rest of her life, that explicit images of her body are irretrievably in the hands of pedophiles -- and leaving [the older girl] with the guilt of having produced them.”

Investigators said Nicholson traded images online using the mobile applications Kik and Wickr.

He was caught by law enforcement when he shared pornographic images of children on Twitter, according to court records. Twitter flagged a message, contacting the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and triggering an investigation.

The federal charge against Nicholson carries a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in prison. Federal sentencing guidelines suggest the maximum, and AUSA Fletcher wrote in court papers that she agreed.

Nicholson is scheduled to be sentenced in March.

He will be required to register as a sex offender and also faces up to $250,000 in fines.

Public Affairs Reporter Julie McMahon covers courts, government, education and sometimes fun stuff like treasure hunters. She can be reached anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-412-1992

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