EDITOR’S NOTE: All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
On the afternoon of Jan. 6, deputies arrested Casey Connaway, a 43-year-old Sebastopol man, for the alleged sexual assault of a minor.
The victim and Connaway met several years ago when she was 15 years old. Connaway was a tennis coach, and the victim met him through coaching lessons at Ragle Park in Sebastopol. During the coaching sessions, Connaway began establishing an unsolicited emotional relationship with the victim. Eventually, he convinced her to have a sexual relationship with him. This illegal relationship continued for two years while the victim was a minor.
On Oct. 26, 2019, the victim called the Sheriff’s Office and disclosed what had happened to her. She feared there may be other young women who have been victimized by Connaway because he has continued to be a tennis coach in Sebastopol.
The victim is now an adult and lives in Ventura County. A deputy talked to the victim and referred her case to the Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault unit.
Detectives have since been working with the victim and Ventura County Sheriff’s Office detectives. During the investigation, detectives learned of a related incident with Connaway in 2017. On July 25, 2017, two minors from out of the area were taking lessons from Connaway at a tennis camp. One student, a 16 year old, told her family she was uncomfortable with some of Connaway’s statements. Deputies determined that no crime had occurred at that time and took an informational report.
After arresting Connaway, domestic violence/sexual assault detectives served a search warrant on Connaway’s car and home to gather more potential evidence.
Connaway was booked into jail on felony charges of sex with a minor who is three or more years younger, oral copulation with a minor and sexual penetration with an object. He was released on $120,000 bail the same day.
As part of the investigation, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office is evaluating whether there are any more people who may have been victimized by Connaway. If you have information about additional victims or any information about this investigation, please contact Detective Salyers at 707-565-8290.
