ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — A 37-year-old softball coach from Cherry Creek High School was arrested after an investigation discovered he allegedly coerced an underage victim to send nude photos to him via social media.
Paul (Pablo) Severtson was found after authorities began an investigation into the suicide of an underage girl in Virginia. Authorities said they found she was talking to Severtson on a social media messaging app.
Severtson is also a coach for the Colorado Styxx girls softball club and has coached at Heritage High School, Littleton High School, and Chaparral High School from November 2017 through August 2020.
Investigators said he had three accounts on the social media chat app KIK in which he passed himself off as 22 to 23 years old and sometimes into fitness. Severtson attempted to “persuade his victim to produce and send nude images and videos of herself, which due to her age, would be considered child sexual abuse material,” sources at the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office said.
Several items of evidence were seized from Severton’s house when a search warrant was executed.
The Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone with information regarding Severtson or his online aliases – Tyson Richard username TYSONHELP, Reggie Collins username REGGIEBBC11, and Jordan Styme username – to contact the tipline at 720-874-8477.
Statement from Cherry Creek School District
On the morning of July 20, 2022, the Cherry Creek School District was notified by the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office of the arrest of Paul “Pablo” Severtson, who is the softball coach for Cherry Creek High School. Mr. Severtson was arrested on July 20, 2022, on a charge of felony Criminal Solicitation.
His arrest was not connected to his employment with the Cherry Creek School District and did not involve CCSD students.
Mr. Severtson was terminated from his employment with CCSD effective immediately. He worked for the district from 2020-2022. He also worked as a paraprofessional at Cherry Creek High School, West Middle School and a small group of students at Cherry Creek Elevation. He began his employment with CCSD in August 2020.
CCSD is working with the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office to support their investigation. In accordance with state statute regarding mandatory parental notification for certain felony charges, the district has notified families at all three schools where Mr. Severtson worked.
Mr. Severtson went through the regular district hiring process, which includes a criminal background check and reference checks. The process did not raise any concerns about his employment.
Statement from victim’s mother
The mother of the victim released this statement:
“My child, who had an eating disorder, was looking for someone on social media to help her lose weight. This person pretended to be someone to help her and lied about who he was, his age and his intent to help her. As a mom impacted by someone who has disrespected by child, I want all families of young girls and boys to be aware of these people.”