A former Shelby High School teacher and varsity boys soccer coach has been sentenced to two and a half to 15 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 17-year-old player he coached, in a case that stretches back to a November 2021 car ride home from a Manistee casino. Jairo Humberto Coronado, 42, was sentenced in Mason County's 51st Circuit Court after pleading no contest in August to second-degree criminal sexual conduct.
According to Oceana County Press, Mason County Prosecuting Attorney Beth Hand told the court the victim was 17 years old at the time of the offense and that Coronado was his coach. Hand said Coronado drove the teen to Manistee to go to the casino and provided him with alcohol to the point of intoxication. On the way back to the Oceana area, the victim fell asleep in Coronado's car and was awakened by Coronado's hand on his genitalia, Hand said. The assault occurred on November 7, 2021, according to court records cited by the outlet.
Hand told the court a prison sentence was deserved, and she praised the victim directly, saying he was brave and that she hoped others would find courage through his bravery. The sentencing closed out a case that had been working through Mason County's 79th District Court since Michigan State Police investigators formally charged Coronado there in March, as reported by the Mason County Press. He was initially released on a $5,000 personal recognizance bond before the case moved to circuit court. The investigation into the assault itself was handled directly by state police, per court records.
A Championship Season, Then Years of Silence
A Coaching Milestone Coronado led the Shelby High School boys varsity soccer team to its first West Michigan Conference championship in 21 years, a milestone the Oceana County Press covered at the time.
That arrest came in April 2024, but not initially over the Mason County assault. Coronado was taken into custody near the City of Newaygo as part of a multi-jurisdictional human trafficking and sextortion sting run by the Newaygo County Sheriff's Office alongside Michigan State Police and the FBI, the sting having used adult decoys posing online as minors to target solicitation. He was arrested in that operation, which the Oceana County Press has also reported involved a multi-jurisdictional task force including the FBI.
That case led to a plea rather than the original felony. A related charge of accosting a child for immoral purposes was dismissed after Coronado pleaded guilty to using a computer to commit a crime, and Newaygo County Circuit Court Judge Robert D. Springstead sentenced him to 30 days in jail and two years probation in October 2024. His attorney, Andrew LaPres, said at the time that Coronado accepted the plea because he had been communicating over a cellular network with someone he believed was young but above the age of consent, even though the law enforcement decoys in the sting had portrayed themselves as 15 years old. LaPres also said Coronado resigned from his positions at Shelby Public Schools following his arrest.
A New Coach in 2024
In 2024, Damian Gonzalez was the first-year head coach of the boys varsity soccer team, according to the Oceana Echo. Gonzalez played goalkeeper at Hart.
Prison Sentence
Coronado's conviction resulted in a prison sentence of two and a half to 15 years.
Coronado is now incarcerated at the Charles E. Egeler Reception and Guidance Center in Jackson County, Michigan Department of Corrections records show, and he received credit for two days already served in jail.
