Zachary Meints, Youth Hockey Coach Allegedly Engaged In Sex Chats With Hockey Team, Encouraged 'Masturbation Races'

A recently unsealed affidavit from Boulder Police says that a former Boulder Hockey Club youth coach sent texts and Facebook messages to minors asking for naked photos and encouraging "masturbation races."

Zachary Meints, 23, faces five felony counts of Internet sexual exploitation of a child after being accused of sending "thousands" of explicit and inappropriate messages to youth.

Police say they were first notified about the allegations on September 28, 2011 and that initial rounds of interviews led them to 13 potential victims and witnesses, five of whom were under the age of 15 at the time.

In the affidavit Meints admits to challenging players on a couple occasions to "masturbation races" through communications on Facebook, and asked for photographic proof. Victims also told police that Meints would talk to them about using sex toys and pornography.

Although Meints would ask victims to send him pictures of themselves naked, Meints never sent pictures of himself or made physical advances, according to the Daily Camera.

When police confronted Meints, he said that he engaged in "locker room talk" and that he'd "jokingly" initiate the masturbation challenges.

7News reports that a mother of two boys who received text messages from Meintz said, "He was asking the boys to send him pictures of themselves and then offering, you know in exchange, money and paid porno sites." The mother said her sons ignored the messages and didn't say much about it until they were approached by the police.

Meints was dismissed by the Boulder Hockey Club and fired from his RoughRiders assistant coach position when police bagan their investigation in September, and the club hired a counselor for the players at the club's own expense.

Meints' arraignment hearing was scheduled for Friday, but has been delayed to May 30.

WATCH [via 9News]: Report on Meints when the scandal first broke in December: