A former Missouri high school basketball coach is facing federal prison time in connection to an incident where he was caught sending sexually inappropriate messages and nude photos to students over social media, prosecutors said.
Lee Anthony Bogan Jr., who was known as "Coach Teejay," was unaware that the students who received photos of his genitals had screenshotted the images, according to prosecutors.
On Monday, February 2, Bogan, 29, of Jennings, pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to receive child pornography, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said in a news release issued that day.
His defense attorney Herman L. Jimerson did not immediately return Us Weekly's request for comment on Tuesday, February 3.
Bogan previously worked as an assistant junior varsity boys basketball coach at the Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School, a private school in St. Louis that is attended by students in junior kindergarten through 12th grade, KSDK reported.
As part of Bogan's plea agreement, he admitted that he started to message high school students over social media in the spring of 2024, according to prosecutors.
"In these messages, Bogan expressed romantic and sexual interest in the students, seeking to gauge their responses," prosecutors said.
Bogan is also accused of sending photos of his genitals to students.
According to prosecutors, Bogan believed that the social media app he was using "would cause the messages to disappear shortly after they were received."
However, students "took screen shots of the explicit photos before they disappeared," prosecutors said.
One student told school administrators that they received the inappropriate photos and messages from Bogan in March 2024, according to charging documents viewed by KSDK.
Then, another student who shared a similar allegation against Bogan said that they received sexually explicit messages from him through Instagram, the NBC-affiliated TV station reported, citing the documents.
In a statement to the TV station provided by the Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School in April 2024, the school said that "Bogan was a contracted, non-faculty assistant basketball coach."
"He worked seasonally at MICDS for a period of approximately three seasons, but was not an employee at the time the alleged misconduct came to light," the school's statement added. "Nevertheless, the School responded to the situation as soon as it became aware of any alleged misconduct."
Ahead of pleading guilty, Bogan filed a motion to dismiss his indictment, court records viewed by Us show.
U.S. District Judge Henry Edward Autrey dismissed the motion in January 2025, according to court records.
Bogan is facing a minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and maximum sentence of 20 years, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
His sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 6, according to prosecutors.
The case against Bogan is a part of the Justice Department's Project Safe Childhood initiative, prosecutors said.
The initiative, established in May 2006, seeks to address the widespread issue of child sexual exploitation, according to prosecutors.
Parents, teachers, and guardians interested in learning more about protecting children from exploitation can find useful tools and information at Know2Protect.
