BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A former athletic trainer will soon be trading the soccer pitch for a jail cell.
On Tuesday, 41-year-old Shelby Garigen pleaded guilty to viewing child pornography. The Clarence Center woman is now facing 46 months in prison.
Garigen was initially arrested in June after being accused of exchanging sexually explicit photos with a 17 year-old boy on an elite soccer team. According to theEmpire United Soccer Academy, Garigen worked with its Development Academy teams based out of Rochester.
During the investigation, undercover investigators assumed the online identity of the victim and say they received sexually explicit videos and messages from Garigen. The team then arranged to meet with Garigen under the guise that this would be a sexual encounter. When Garigen arrived, she was placed under arrest.
During a subsequent search of her phone, investigators say they discovered she had also exchanged photos with a second 17-year-old boy from the same soccer team.
Garigen is due back in court for sentencing in February.
