Judge lowers bail for former track coach charged with sexual abuse of students

CEDAR RAPIDS — A judge Thursday lowered bail from $65,000 to 32,000 for a former assistant track coach at Linn-Mar High School who is charged with kidnapping and sexually abusing a 17-year-old male student and molesting a 15-year-old male student last year during a “training program.”

Kameron Martelle Beets, 30, of Cedar Rapids, is charged with second-degree kidnapping, third-degree sexual abuse and sexual exploitation by a school employee, all felonies, in the case involving a 17-year-old student.

In the case involving a 15-year-old, Beets is charged with assault with intent to commit sexual abuse, an aggravated misdemeanor, and lascivious conduct with a minor, a serious misdemeanor.

Sara Smith, Beets’ lawyer, argued during a hearing that the current $50,000 and $15,000 cash-only bails were higher than what the bond schedules recommend. She said Beets isn’t a flight risk because he is lifelong resident of Cedar Rapids and has an extensive support system, including his mother and sister who were in the courtroom for the bail review hearing Thursday.

Smith also submitted seven character letters to the judge.

Beets has always worked to help youth, Smith said. He started a “restorative” student program at Linn-Mar that allowed suspended students to come into his class, instead of being out on the streets. He also had previous jobs as a youth counselor at Four Oaks and other employment working with troubled teens.

Smith said Beets had never had any complaints or issues with youths in the past.

She asked 6th Judicial District Judge Jason Besler to lower Beets’ bail to $20,000 cash or surety and allow him to pay a percentage to the court clerk.

Assistant Linn County Attorney Jordan Schier said the prosecution is concerned about the serious nature of the charges, which involved multiple victims. He asked the court not to allow the percentage of bail to be paid. He asked for $37,000 in the kidnapping case and $3,000 for two misdemeanors.

Besler dropped the bail in the kidnapping case to $30,000 cash or surety and $2,000 in the other case. Beets for each is allowed to only pay 10 percent of those to the court clerk for release.

If bail is paid, Beets will be released to the supervision of the Department of Correctional Services and be placed under GPS monitoring if probation officials deem it necessary, according to Besler’s order.

Besler also ordered no-contact orders for the two teens, and told Beets he couldn’t have contact with any minors — outside his family — and cannot go on school grounds.

Linn-Mar High officials said in the statement last year after Beets was arrested that they were aware of the allegations but said Beets had resigned as a student supervisor April 14 and his contract as an assistant boys varsity track coach ended May 22. He did continue to volunteer as an unpaid coach.

School officials also said they didn’t think any complaints were received by school administration to suggest “misconduct in a school-related context.”

According to a complaint, the 17-year-old told police that Beets, who served as his coach, instructed the teen to send him nude photos or videos. Beets met Sept. 27, 2021, with the teen in an office at Linn-Mar High “to perform a “physical analysis” for Beets’ personal training program.

During that meeting, Beets told the teen to get undressed and he molested and sexually abused him and confined him in a bathroom for more than 45 minutes while the teen was naked, the complaint stated. Beets took the teen’s clothing and wouldn’t give it back.

In the other case, a 15-year-old told police that Beets, his coach, asked him to send nude photos or videos and to meet him in person “for the purpose of evaluating and coaching him,” according to a criminal complaint. Police have collected digital forensic evidence in the case against Beets, the complaint stated.

The teen told police that Beets met him Sept. 25 of last year at Linn-Mar High School to perform a “physical analysis” for a “training program,” during which Beets told the teen to strip naked before fondling his buttock and inner thigh.

Authorities said after his arrest that they seized “thousands of computer images depicting high school athletes” and were analyzing them for any other possible victims.

Beets also had access to student athletes through his work and his sports photography business and personal training program called BEAST Academy, which took photos and videos of sporting events across Iowa.

Beets’ LinkedIn profile states he founded BEAST Academy in May 2020. The company’s social media accounts show dozens of photos and videos taken at prep football games, baseball games, wrestling matches and other events mostly in Eastern Iowa.

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