Coach faces child porn charges

A volunteer coach for girls soccer at Proctor High School was being transported to Miami on Friday to face federal charges that he distributed child pornography over the Internet.

Meanwhile, school officials continue to investigate whether any of their students were victimized.

Charles "Charlie'' Dunbar, 29, of Iron River was an assistant coach at Proctor the past three soccer seasons and was going to coach this season until he was accused of a crime. He is charged in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida with transporting by interstate commerce visual depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Proctor schools Superintendent Diane Rauschenfels said Friday there is no evidence that any of the soccer players was victimized by Dunbar, but staff members from the Program for Aid to Victims of Sexual Assault will be available to the girls for counseling on Wednesday.

"It's to let the girls know that 'if you think of anything creepy [about Dunbar] in hindsight, please come forward,' '' Rauschenfels said. "Nobody has come forward with anything in regard to this.''

According to an affidavit signed by Miami FBI Special Agent Alexis Carpinteri that accompanied the criminal complaint:

An undercover law enforcement officer in Miami was targeting child predators in a Yahoo chat room on June 22 when an individual identifying himself as "c_dunbar_35" was encountered. The undercover officer believed that people entered that particular chat room because of their interest in incest.

The undercover officer was playing the role of a single mother with a 10-year-old daughter.

During the conversation, "c_dunbar_35'' said that he was in Wisconsin, was 28 years old and that his first name was Charlie. He said he was interested in engaging in sexual activity with the 10-year-old. He asked to speak directly to the girl so that he could discuss the various sex acts he would like to engage in with her, and he sent nude photos of himself. Later, he sent a streaming video of himself masturbating.

He said he was a soccer coach and sent three images depicting a young girls soccer team and/or the coaching staff. The uniforms were green and white and lettered "Proctor Rails.''

Carpinteri searched a data base to find Proctor.

"c_dunbar_35" had another contact with the undercover officer on June 30 in which he stated he worked at a resort and sent the link to Minnesuing Acres, a Lake Nebagamon resort.

Then he sent 41 images to the undercover officer. Six depicted children who appear to be younger than 12 engaged in sexual activities and/or displaying their genitalia. Others depicted females between the ages of 16 and 20 engaged in sexual activities or displaying their genitalia.

He claimed to have engaged in a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old female from the soccer team he coached.

Rauschenfels said there is no evidence to support that claim and that the FBI has told her that "c_dunbar_35" was just saying that to gain leverage with the role-playing mother.

"That's also why we are doing what PAVSA tells us to do,'' Rauschenfels said. "If there truly is that 14-year-old girl out there, she can get whatever support she needs.''

Rauschenfels said about 40 girls are involved in the Proctor varsity and junior varsity soccer programs. She said the girls' parents have been contacted and informed of the allegations. "We're doing what we can to make sure that our girls and their families are protected,'' she said.

The superintendent said she never met Dunbar. "The kids and their parents seemed to like him,'' she said.

Head girls soccer coach John Sundquist and Dunbar were friends and worked together. Neither man is a teacher. Sundquist couldn't be reached for comment Friday.

"From our perspective the school has done everything right,'' said Candice Harshner, executive director of the Program for Aid to Victims of Sexual Assault. "They have really tried to be proactive about this.''

Dunbar appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Raymond Erickson in Duluth last week for a detention hearing. Judy Orihuela, spokeswoman for the FBI in Miami, said Friday that Dunbar was en route to Miami in the custody of U.S. marshals. His initial court appearance will be scheduled after he is transferred to the jurisdiction there, she said.

Joan Cronson, spokeswoman for Carlson Hotels in Minneapolis -- parent company of Minnesuing Acres -- said that Dunbar was employed there from October 2006 until Aug. 28. She said he performed general maintenance at the resort. She said there had been no incidents on the resort property and a manager is answering authorities' questions about Dunbar.

Richard Petersson, now retired, was the Proctor activities director when Dunbar was approved to join the coaching staff. "I was as shocked as everybody else [by the allegations],'' Petersson said Friday.

He said he didn't receive any complaints of Dunbar treating the soccer players in a sexually inappropriate manner nor did he see any such behavior. Current Proctor Activities Director Rory Johnson couldn't be reached for comment Friday.

Mark Stodghill covers public safety and courts. He can be reached weekdays at (218) 723-5333 or by e-mail at mstodghill@duluthnews.com .