Washington – A 47-year-old volunteer Surrey, B.C., soccer coach has been arrested in the United States after allegedly trying to meet a 12-year-old girl for sex.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says Kuldip (Kelly) Singh Mahal crossed the border in Blaine, Wash., Tuesday afternoon.
In documents filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle, the agency alleges Mahal answered a posting on Craigslist from an undercover agent posing as a 12-year-old girl from northwest Washington.
Mahal was arrested in a Burlington, Wash., park yesterday. He is now charged with the “attempted enticement of a minor.”
U.S. investigators allege Mahal sent multiple sexually explicit messages and photos to the undercover officer.
The court documents say he is a volunteer coach for an under-16 soccer team in Surrey.
Mahal suspended as coach
The Surrey United Soccer club announced late Wednesday it was suspending Mahal as coach.
At a hastily arranged news conference, executive director Martin Foden said that Mahal, like all club personnel, had successfully cleared a criminal record check.
Foden said Mahal had been an exemplary soccer coach for 11 years.
“We do our normal due diligence with the 2,500 kids that go through our program,” he said.
“It’s shocking to us, whether we’re involved in soccer or not involved in soccer, whenever we hear allegations like this. We’ve all been moms and dads and we need to support and protect our children.”
Foden said he hoped media would not turn this into a soccer story. He said Mahal was simply a Surrey resident who happened to coach soccer.
He said the club didn’t hear of the charge against Mahal until notified Wednesday by the media. Foden said the club is arranging meetings with the parents of the teams Mahal coached.