Leah B. Foley United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts | Department of Justice
A Burlington, Massachusetts man and former high school wrestling coach was convicted on three counts of attempting to send obscene material to a minor. Stephen James Lemelin, 51, was found guilty after a three-day jury trial in Boston federal court. The sentencing is scheduled for March 26, 2026, before U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris.
According to evidence presented during the trial, Lemelin sent sexually explicit messages and obscene photographs via Kik Messenger over five months to an undercover officer who was posing as a 14-year-old girl. Prosecutors said Lemelin also proposed meeting the purported minor for sex while he was working as a wrestling coach at Burlington High School.
Each count of attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. Sentences are determined by federal judges based on applicable statutes and the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Division, announced the conviction. They noted that assistance came from Customs and Border Protection along with several local police departments: Arlington, Boston, Brookline, Burlington, Salisbury and Winchester. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David G. Tobin and Eric L. Hawkins are handling the prosecution.
"This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse," according to the announcement by Foley and Docks. "Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice...Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims." More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at https://www.justice.gov/psc.
