Soda Springs basketball coach charged with rape now faces more sex crime charges
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Editor’s note: This story may be disturbing for some readers. Discretion is advised.
PRESTON — A former high school basketball coach awaiting trial on 20 rape charges was arrested Tuesday in Franklin County for three additional sex crime charges.
Wade Lee Schvaneveldt, 52, has been indicted by an Ada County grand jury on three counts of sexual battery on a minor.
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The indictment alleges that Schvaneveldt made sexual contact with a minor — 16 at the time — in February 2014, according to court documents obtained by EastIdahoNews.com.
When she testified at a November preliminary hearing, one of the victims claimed that a sexual relationship began while she and her team were in Boise for a basketball tournament. According to her testimony, the victim and her then-coach had sex multiple times while they were in Boise for the tournament in February 2014.
During her testimony, the victim said that the sexual relationship between her and her coach lasted until she was 19. Over that time, she said the two had sex numerous times, including in Schvaneveldt’s office at the school and at the home he shared with his family.
Schvaneveldt made his initial appearance with the Ada County Court through Zoom from the Cache County Jail in Logan, Utah. Following the hearing, he was remanded to the custody of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, which booked him into the Cache County Jail. A bail amount has yet to be set, court records show.
Schvaneveldt requested and received permission from the Caribou County Court to leave the state in early April to attend a family celebration on the East Coast. A similar request has not yet been made with the Ada County Court.
In the rape case, Schvaneveldt is alleged to have engaged in sexual relations with a girl, between the ages of 16 and 17, on 20 separate instances between March 2014 and April 2015. It is not clear if the two cases involve the same victim.
If he is found guilty, Schvaneveldt could face life sentences on each count.
He is scheduled to stand trial on June 26 for the 20 rape charges. Further court proceedings in Ada County have not yet been scheduled.
Though Schvaneveldt has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.