A Sylvania man who volunteered as a cross-country coach at Arbor Hills Junior High School was sentenced yesterday in Lucas County Common Pleas Court for soliciting sex via the Internet from a 14-year-old female member of the track team.

Jeffrey Boyst, 22, of 7364 Gail Dr. was sentenced by Judge Ruth Ann Franks to 11 months in prison - one month shy of the maximum penalty for felony importuning.

Authorities seized the computer at Boyst's home in October after the parents of the girl used special software to view "instant message" correspondence from Boyst to the girl in which Boyst solicited her for sex.

Police discovered about 400 pornographic images of young children engaged in sexual activity on a computer disk that belonged to the defendant.

Prosecutors dismissed a charge of pandering sexually-oriented material in the indictment, in part, because of possible concerns in proving at trial that the subjects in the images were minors.

But Judge Franks said there was no question in her mind that the images were of real children.

"They are little children. They are absolutely pornographic. These children were being sexually abused," Judge Franks said.

Sylvania Detective Mike Yunker said Boyst also conversed in similar computer chatting with about 70 other girls - all young teens who were on the track team - and that instant messages with about one-third of the girls were of a sexually-related nature.

Judge Franks noted that Boyst

was on probation from Sylvania Municipal Court for an incident in 2002 in which he made a telephone threat to a female manager at the supermarket where he worked.

The recommendation of a court psychologist that Boyst is a sexually oriented offender was accepted by Judge Franks. The least serious of classifications for sexual offenders, Boyst will be required to register annually for 20 years with the sheriff's office and notify the sheriff's department of the county in which he resides of any change in address.

Police said the victim ran for the track team, but Nancy Crandell, a spokesman for Sylvania schools, said Boyst did not coach the team, but instead was a volunteer cross-county coach at the school.

Ms. Crandell said Boyst began volunteering while he was a member of the junior high team and continued through high school when he ran cross country for Northview. She said he was not paid.

First Published April 30, 2004, 10:31 a.m.