Roseville Police detectives on Monday confirmed the arrest of a private basketball coach, Melvin Gabriel Allen Flemings, age 28 of Citrus Heights, on suspicion of "child annoying and violating sex offender laws." A department spokesman said that detectives had recently received a tip that a registered sex offender was offering basketball lessons to underage teenagers. He was alleged to be giving those private lessons at the Roseville Sports Center and other locations in the area. The detectives reportedly determined that the coach was involved in inappropriate text conversations with some of the young people he was coaching.
Melvin Gabriel Allen Flemings booking photo courtesy of Roseville Police Department
Flemings is said to have been a user of the sports center since March, and he allegedly arranged for players to meet him there for individual and group lessons. Investigators said he was known to players and parents only as "Coach Allen," though he may have used other names. However, authorities insisted Flemings has never been an employee of the City of Roseville or the center, and he was not authorized to give lessons at the facility. They added that private coaches who want to use City of Roseville facilities for lessons are required to obtain a city-issued permit. Flemings allegedly did not have such a permit.
According to California's Megan's Law website, Flemings was originally sentenced to register as a sex offender at the time of his 2011 conviction for employing, coercing or using a minor in the production of obscene material. Flemings is currently in custody in the Placer County Jail.