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Valley volunteer football coach sentenced in Nebraska for child sex crimes

44-year-old Nicholas Murphy pleaded guilty to traveling with a minor to engage in sex
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OMAHA, NE — A Valley volunteer football coach and former NFL player was sentenced this week in a Nebraska federal court for coercion and enticement of a minor.

Nicholas Murphy, 44, pleaded guilty and was sentenced on Thursday to 57 months in federal prison with a 10-year term of supervised release, Department of Justice officials say. Murphy will also pay a $20,000 fine and restitution to the victim.

Video in the player above includes previous reporting on the case.

Officials say Murphy began a relationship with a 17-year-old who was a dancer at a dance studio in Omaha. Murphy and his wife were co-owners of the studio, ABC15 previously reported.

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In October 2021, Murphy traveled with the teen from Nebraska to Tucson, Arizona, where Murphy had sex with the minor in his hotel room.

ABC15 previously reported that Murphy was entering a not-guilty plea, but he ultimately pleaded guilty to persuading and enticing a minor to travel in interstate commerce to engage in sex.

After Murphy was indicted in September 2023, Scottsdale Unified School District sent a letter to families stating that he would not be returning to campus, where he was a volunteer coach for the freshman football team at Desert Mountain High School.