Who Is Paul Severtson? Cherry Creek High School Softball Coach Arrested For Sexual Assault

High school softball coach Paul "Pablo" Severtson has been arrested in a child sex crime investigation.

37-year-old Severtson was arrested last Wednesday following an investigation by the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office Internet Crimes Against Children. The unit executed a search warrant at his home, where they found evidence incriminating him of soliciting underage girls.

Law enforcement alleged that Severtson attempted to solicit nude photos and videos from a juvenile girl on the social media messaging app Kik. The coach is currently facing charges of the class 4 felony of criminal solicitation and is presently held in the Arapahoe County Jail.

According to online records, he is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday morning, and no bond has been set for him. Following the news of his arrest, he was immediately fired from Cherry Creek High School.

Who Is Paul Severtson?

Paul Severtson was the head coach of the Cherry Creek High School girls' softball team and the Colorado Styxx girl's softball club.

He began his career at Cherry Creek in August 2020. Severtson also worked as a paraprofessional at Cherry Creek, West Middle School, and a small group of students at the district's online school, Cherry Creek Elevation.

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Before working at Cherry Creek, he coached at Heritage High School, Littleton High School, and Chaparral High School from November 2017 to August 2020.

Although Severtson went through the regular district hiring process, which includes a criminal background check and reference checks, the process did not raise any concerns about his employment.

The Cherry Creek School District is working with the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office to support their investigation. Per state statute regarding mandatory parental notifications for certain felony charges, they have notified families at all three schools where Severtson worked about his crimes.

The school district stated that Severtson's arrest was not connected to his employment and did not involve any students from his teaching institutions. Still, his arrest caused a panic among the schools he was teaching in, and rightfully so.

How Did Paul Severtson Get Arrested?

Paul Severtson's arrest occurred when he was connected to a juvenile girl's suicide.

In March, Virginia's Hanover County Sherrif's Office contacted local investigators at the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office about an underage girl who had committed suicide.

Upon further investigation, the authorities discovered that the girl had communicated with an individual identified as Severtson on social media messaging apps.

By passing himself off as someone in his early 20s, Severtson had been using social media to persuade the underage girl from Virginia to send him images and videos of herself nude. Due to her age, however, these images and videos would be considered child sex abuse material.

According to a sheriff's news release, Severtson had three separate accounts on the social media chat app KIK under the names of Tyson Richard, with the username TYSONHELP; Reggie Collins, with the username REGGIEBBC11 and Jordan Styme, with the username JSTYME8080.

Investigators are concerned that there may be additional victims and have urged people with more information to contact the sheriff's office at 720-874-8477.

Paul Severtson's Jail Sentence And Mugshot

Paul Severtson has been booked on one count of criminal solicitation, a class four felony.

As Severtson is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday morning, his jail sentence has not been set yet. However, in a case like his, containing criminal solicitation, especially that of a minor, the punishment is typically custody in state prison for four years or more along with substantial fines.

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Also, the defendant will be registered as a sex offender.

It is important to note that four years is the minimum number of years a person can be imprisoned, and in most cases, the sentence is more.

If specific facts are present, a defendant will receive more years, such as using an electronic device to solicit a minor, traveling to meet the minor, or making sexual contact with the minor.

Along with these facts, if the convicted person hired or persuaded the minor to participate in making pornographic imagery or explicit material, then it also becomes a child pornography case.

Since Severtson not only used an electronic device to solicit a minor but also persuaded her to send explicit material, he will rightfully be facing more than four years.

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