Sting Operation Arrests Swim Coach Carrying Teddy Bear, Chocolates For Undercover Teen

A 38-year-old upstate New York swim coach was arrested after an undercover sting operation ultimately led him to show up with a teddy bear and a box of chocolates intended for a 16-year-old girl.

Matthew Lincoln, of Henrietta, New York, was arrested on federal enticement charges Thursday as part of an undercover sting operation involving several law enforcement agencies in Brighton. U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy Jr. and representatives from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, FBI, New York State Police, Rochester Police Department and the Brighton Police Department were all involved in his arrest at Jay’s Diner -- where Lincoln intended to meet a 16-year-old girl he’d been sending sexual text messages.

“Protecting our children is of utmost importance,” Kennedy told reporters Thursday.

Law enforcement officials told the Democrat and Chronicle they were tipped off about Lincoln’s behavior when the father of an 11-year-old girl told Brighton police that Lincoln was having inappropriate conversations with the young girl. Lincoln and a police officer posing as a 16-year-old girl began having sexually explicit conversations, with the 38-year-old man asking her to send photos of her in underwear.

Lincoln, head coach and program director of the Golden Comets Swim Club, additionally sent several nude photos of himself to the supposed teen girl.

Court documents show that Lincoln admitted to exchanging the lewd texts as well as buying Valentine’s Day gifts at Walmart -- a teddy bear and chocolates -- that he was arrested with at the diner Thursday.

Police say the Golden Comets private swim club would have given Lincoln access to several other potential victims and they are investigating inappropriate contact he may have had with other children. Rush Henrietta High School is one of the local public schools that allows the private swim club to use their facilities. Brighton Police Chief Mark Henderson said club officials fired Lincoln Friday from the job he’d held since 2000.

“First, our heartfelt sympathies go out to the victims and the victims’ families,” Henrietta Town Supervisor Stephen Schultz said in a written statement. “The town takes the protection of children very seriously and performs a background check on prospective employees in the Recreation Department or any job that involves working with children. The Town has and will continue to fully cooperate with the various law enforcement agencies involved.”