BOZEMAN, Montana — A Bozeman High assistant tennis coach has been charged with sexual abuse of children, a felony, after texting and arranging to meet with a Bozeman police detective posing as a child on social media.

Kenneth Jordan Sheehan, 33, appeared in Gallatin County Justice Court on Wednesday. A judge set his bail at $100,000. Sheehan is held at the Gallatin County Detention Center.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, in late July a Bozeman police detective assigned to the special victims unit was posing as a 13-year-old child on a social media site and was contacted by a man using the username "Cade."

The detective told "Cade," who later identified himself as Sheehan, that he was 13 years old over text. Sheehan acknowledged he was talking to a child but said he was "nervous" the 13-year-old may be a cop, according to court docs.

Sheehan asked to continue the conversation on Snapchat — a photo and messaging app.

According to the court document, he said he wanted to "mess around" with the 13-year-old, asked for the teen to send him photos while in the shower and sent several sexually graphic text messages.

On Tuesday, Sheehan contacted the detective, who he believed was a 13-year-old, and sent several sexually explicit messages detailing sexual acts he wanted to perform. He then asked to meet up.

They agreed to meet at the Bozeman Pond, Sheehan said he'd bring condoms. At the Bozeman Pond, several police officers — including the detective posing as the child — waited for Sheehan and later arrested him.

In an interview with police, Sheehan said he believed he had been interacting with a teen and said he was behaving inappropriately.

Sheehan denied wanting to have sex with the teen, saying at most he would have wanted to receive or perform oral sex, court docs allege.

Sheehan worked for the Bozeman School District and was hired in March 2021 as an assistant tennis coach for Bozeman High School through the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 high school season, Superintendent Casey Bertram said in a statement.

Sheehan also coached intramural tennis at Chief Joseph and Sacajawea Middle Schools during the 2021-2022 school year.

The district was alerted of Sheehan's arrest on Tuesday, Bertram said.

Sheehan was not employed by the district outside of his role as a coach and will not be offered employment for the 2022-2023 school year, Bertram said.

"It is our understanding that there wasn't an actual child victim, and the arrest was made based upon interactions between Kenneth Sheehan and the Bozeman Police Department," Bertram said. "Regardless of the details, the situation is extremely troubling, and we are very thankful for the quick work of law enforcement to arrest this individual."

Bertram said if any students, parents or community members have additional information regarding Sheehan, or questions for law enforcement, contact BPD Det. Capt. Dana McNeil at 406-582-2020.