Kenneth Wayne Mulkey, a former Sabinal High School teacher and coach, was sentenced Friday to 30 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to attempted enticement of a minor. The term was handed down in federal court in Del Rio and caps a federal investigation into sexually explicit messages Mulkey sent to an account he believed belonged to a 14-year-old boy.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas, Mulkey used Snapchat on Oct. 11, 2024, to ask another user for their age, sex and location. When the user replied that they were a 14-year-old boy in Orlando, Florida, Mulkey identified himself as a 40-year-old football and track coach and asked for sexually explicit photographs. Prosecutors say he then sent a sexually graphic photo of himself the next day and continued sexually explicit exchanges with the account.
Mulkey was arrested Jan. 31, 2025, indicted Feb. 19, 2025, and pleaded guilty Aug. 11, 2025, to one of two counts. The judge imposed the 30-year sentence on April 3, 2026, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. “As parents and community members, we place an incredible amount of trust in the educators, administrators and coaches that our children interact with on a regular, sometimes daily, basis,” U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons said in the release. The office also posted the announcement on X. ICE Homeland Security Investigations led the probe with assistance from the Orange County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office and the Uvalde County Sheriff’s Office, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nallely Duarte prosecuted the case.
Investigation and prosecution
Federal agents said cell-phone geolocation data placed Mulkey within about 40 meters of Sabinal High School when he initiated the Snapchat exchange, and the district removed him from campus and placed him on administrative leave while the investigation unfolded. The San Antonio Express-News reported on Mulkey’s arrest and the district’s response.
Local reporting has also documented Mulkey’s path through the region’s schools. He had worked at Sabinal ISD since 2023 and previously taught in Ingram and Hondo Independent School Districts, according to Texas Scorecard.
What the law says
Under federal law, coercion and enticement of a minor carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and allows for up to life imprisonment under 18 U.S.C. § 2422. The statute, summarized by Cornell Law School, covers efforts that use a facility of interstate commerce, including social media, to persuade or attempt to persuade someone under 18 to engage in sexual activity. That framework helps explain the steep penalty imposed by the court.
Local impact
The case has renewed scrutiny of how social apps can be used to target young people and has sharpened questions about background checks and oversight in smaller school districts, where staff often wear multiple hats. Coverage of Mulkey’s guilty plea in August 2025 highlighted those concerns, and local outlets continue to track similar prosecutions across Texas.
