A high school teacher and coach in Sabinal was arrested Friday on criminal charges related to his alleged attempt to entice a minor.
Monday morning, he made his first appearance in federal court here.
According to court documents, Kenneth Wayne Mulkey, 43, allegedly asked an undercover special agent for their age, sex and location in a Snapchat interaction Oct. 11, 2024. After the undercover agent replied by identifying as a 14-year-old boy,
Mulkey allegedly identified himself as a 40-year-old football and track coach. He also sent a photo of himself before requesting sexually explicit photos of the minor—which the minor declined—and subsequently discussing topics that were sexual in nature.
The affidavit alleges that the following day, Mulkey sent a sexually graphic photo of himself to the user he believed to be a teenage boy. An investigation revealed that when Mulkey had requested the sexually explicit photo of the minor on Oct. 11, his geolocation was within 40 meters of Sabinal High School.
HSI arrested Mulkey Jan. 31, 2025. He made is initial appearance in federal court Feb. 3 and is charged with attempted enticement of a minor. If convicted, he faces 10 years to life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas made the announcement.
Homeland Security Investigations is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nallely Duarte and Ekua Assabill are 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. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, 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 www.justice.gov/psc.
