Former Nickerson coach arrested on sex crimes charges

Ryan Stoecklein, a fairly well-known name among sports fans in Reno County, is facing charges of sexual exploitation of a child under 18 and attempted unlawful sexual relations. The former Nickerson School District employee was arrested on Wednesday according to the Reno County Sheriff’s Office.
Stoecklein was a coach for the school district and District Superintendent Curtis Nightingale confirmed that he was employed with them when the alleged crimes occurred.
Stoecklein is being held on a $120,000 bond. His first court appearance is scheduled for Thursday morning.
The complaint filed against Stoecklein states "That on or between January 1 and March 24, 2025, in Reno County, Kansas, RYAN JAMES STOECKLEIN promoted a performance that included sexually explicit conduct of a child under 18 years of age, to wit: JMFG, DOB (xx/xx/2007), a severity level 3 person felony."
The document goes further stating that he "did attempt to engage in consensual sexual intercourse and lewd fondling or touching with a person who was a student enrolled at the school where the offender was employed, to wit: Nickerson High School, who was 16 or more years of age, to-wit: JMFG (DOB: xx/xx/2007), and who was not married to the offender, while the offender was a teacher or other person in a position of authority, by completing an overt act towards the perpetration of the crime, done by a person who intended to commit such crime but failed in the perpetration thereof or was prevented or intercepted in executing such crime, a severity level 7 person felony."