Sean Johnsen of Valley Stream, former youth soccer coach, sentenced to prison in rape of 15-year-old player

A Valley Stream soccer coach and teacher was sentenced to 1 to 3 years in state prison for having sex with a 15-year-old female on his team and soliciting nude photos of the girl, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said.

Sean Johnsen, 38, a former coach of a Franklin Square youth soccer team and a teacher at Fusion Academy in Woodbury, pleaded guilty Aug. 1 before Judge Teresa Corrigan to charges of third-degree rape, third-degree criminal sex act, use of a child in a sexual performance and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, Donnelly said.

“Parents entrust their children to sports coaches and teachers every day, assuming that these professionals will care for their kids and help them to grow and succeed,” said Donnelly. “This defendant exploited his position and standing in the community to prey on adolescent girls, manipulate them, and groom them into inappropriate relationships. Today, he is held accountable for that despicable violation of trust with prison time.”

Beginning in April 2020 and continuing through August 2020, Johnsen engaged in a sexual relationship with an underage player on the team he coached and had sexual relations with her "multiple times in his car and at a Nassau County hotel," Donnelly said.

During that time, Johnsen also solicited nude videos and photographs of the victim, who was 15 years old when the conduct started, Donnelly said.

Based on further investigation, prosecutors determined that Johnsen propositioned a second player and endangered the welfare of a third teenager.

The Franklin Square youth soccer program serves boys and girls ranging in age from 14 to 19, authorities previously confirmed with Newsday.

Johnsen was arrested by the Nassau County Police Department’s Special Victims Squad on Oct. 29, 2020.