Warrant: Cary police catch soccer coach in underage sex chat room

Robert Jules Peterson, 43, of 1113 Tarbert Court in Cary, was arrested around 2 a.m. Saturday on six counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. Each charge carries a maximum possible punishment of 39 months in prison.

He was suspended Sunday from his position at Green Hope High. 

According to search warrants in the case, Cary police monitoring a public Internet chat room dedicated to child porn identified a user and connected it to a computer address assigned to the home Peterson shares with his mother and father. A review of the chat room activity showed that user accessed video and still images of teen girls who appeared to be between the ages of 12 and 16 unclothed and engaged in sexual activity, the warrant said.

The same user identified himself as "Bob" or "Rob" and emailed another chat room user, a police undercover account, and said he was "into pictures of little girls," the warrant said. The user traced to Peterson's address identified himself to an undercover officer as a 43-year-old man from Cary.

Police seized three mobile phones, four flash drives and a laptop from the home.

Peterson has bailed out of jail on $50,000 bond. His next court date is Aug. 5 at 9 a.m.

"It's a matter that involves Internet pictures. We take it very seriously. It's a felony, and we're going to address it in court," said attorney Robert Padovano, who represented Peterson at Monday's hearing. "Until then, I've advised him not to say anything."

Cary police Capt. Don Hamilton said that the accusations do not involve any local children or students, but that, in cases like this, there is always the chance that some victims may come forward. "This is really the tip of the iceberg now," he said.

Stella Shelton, interim communications officer for the Wake County Public School System, said Sunday that Peterson has worked at Green Hope High since August 2001. This past season, he led the girls' soccer team to an undefeated season, its first state title and No. 1 ranking in the country.

Peterson has also coached soccer players, girls of high school age, for the Capital Area Soccer League, said CASL Chief Executive Charlie Slagle. 

"We had no complaints about anything like this or anything all about his teams," Slagle said. "The parents and players loved that he was coaching their team." 

Slagle said Peterson has not worked for the league since last fall.