An Atherton equestrian coach has pleaded no contest to sexually abusing a 15-year-old student, a case that began with a criminal complaint filed in December 2022 and ended this week with a conviction on felony and misdemeanor charges. Alec Lawler, who coached young riders in Portola Valley and elsewhere in San Mateo County, entered the plea on Wednesday, resolving charges that stemmed from conduct prosecutors say started in May 2022.
San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Lawler pleaded no contest to two felony counts of attempted possession of child pornography and two misdemeanor counts of child molestation, according to SFGATE. The district attorney’s office said Lawler sent graphic videos to the 15-year-old student, and detectives later found that he had also sent her sexual photographs and both requested and received images from her. KRON4 reported that prosecutors said Lawler sent videos of himself masturbating to the teenage equestrian student he coached and requested sexual photographs from her.
As part of the plea deal, seven counts of distributing or showing pornography to a minor and two counts of contact with a minor for a sexual offense were dismissed, per KRON4’s reporting. Wagstaffe said Lawler, who was 30 at the time of his arrest, is not expected to go to state prison under the deal; instead, he could serve up to one year in county jail and two years of probation, according to SFGATE.
How the Case Came Together
The student reported Lawler to law enforcement, setting off the investigation that led to the December 2022 criminal complaint. Lawler was arrested the following month, in January 2023, after the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office said he was located in Riverside County with help from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and taken into custody on a warrant on Jan. 5, 2023, per the sheriff’s office’s own account. He was released on bail following his arrest.
The sheriff’s office said at the time that Lawler had coached multiple minors over the years in Portola Valley and throughout the county, and investigators looked for other potential victims after his arrest. Wagstaffe said police ultimately determined there was only one victim, according to SFGATE.
A Coaching Career Now in Question
Lawler ran his own equestrian coaching business and competed in United States Equestrian Federation show-jumping events, SFGATE reported. He was associated with a training center in Portola Valley that SFGATE identified as being located in Menlo Park, though the coaching business tied to Lawler no longer appears on that training center’s website, and the center did not respond to SFGATE’s request for comment. The U.S. Equestrian Federation now lists Lawler as ineligible to compete because of his criminal case, according to SFGATE’s reporting.
The case fits into a broader pattern flagged within the equestrian world around that time. The number of equestrians on the U.S. Center for SafeSport’s Interim Suspension List nearly doubled in January 2023 alone, growing from six names to eleven as five new additions were logged that month, according to Horse Network.
What Happens Before Sentencing
Wagstaffe said Lawler will be examined by a psychiatrist before sentencing, with the evaluation meant to determine whether he is a sexual predator, per SFGATE. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 21, and KRON4 reported that Lawler remains out of custody on a $2.5 million bail bond on the condition that he wear an ankle monitor. The outcome of that sentencing, and what the psychiatric evaluation ultimately finds, remain open questions as the case moves toward its final stage.
