TORRINGTON – Action by the defense to set aside cellphone records subpoenaed by County Attorney Kenneth Brown was delayed Thursday morning after complications arose in the case of Michael Booth, former girls basketball coach at Southeast High School who allegedly had sex with a former player.
District Judge Patrick Korell conducted the hearing via computer with defense attorney Cole Sherard in Laramie, following a delay in the arrival of County Attorney Kenneth Brown.
Booth was not present at the hearing.
Sherard expressed his concern in dealing with numerous cellphone numbers and messages between Aug. 1 and Oct. 31, 2017, involving Booth’s family members, and Brown agreed to the delay.
Korell determined that the hearing would be postponed until a time to be announced when all of the parties could participate, either in person or via electronic connections.
Booth has been free on a $20,000 bond since October after being charged with allegedly having sex with a former player in May.

Booth, 36, pled not guilty in Goshen County District Court on Nov. 16 to a charge of sexual abuse of a minor in the third degree by a person in position of authority.
According to court documents, Booth and a female minor, during separate interviews with law enforcement personnel in October, confirmed that sexual intercourse had occurred in the girl’s vehicle near the Pavilion at the Goshen County Fairgrounds in early May 2017.
In an affidavit of probable cause filed Oct. 20, both Booth and his alleged victim, who was listed in court documents as a 16-years-old, were interviewed separately by Goshen County Sheriff’s investigators over a two-day period. Booth told investigators the victim was a former player, according to the affidavit. Booth said he had since resigned his coaching position with the school district.
Booth was listed in court documents as being 35 years old at the time of the alleged encounter. During the interview, he reportedly told investigators he knew that sex with the teenager was wrong.
During a later interview with the same Sheriff’s Office representatives, the girl confirmed that Booth had been her basketball coach. She also said she had felt “pressured” to have sexual intercourse with him, according to court documents. The girl also said Booth took her to a basketball camp in June 2017, where he allegedly told her he was having marital problems at that time.
A warrant for Booth’s arrest was issued Oct. 20, and served Oct. 21.
Booth had previously waived a preliminary hearing before Judge Randall Arp in the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court in Torrington on Nov. 8, and was released on a $20,000 appearance bond.
During his Nov. 16 arraignment, Booth entered the not guilty plea.
A pre-trial conference is scheduled for March at the Goshen County Courthouse. A jury trial is set for April 2018 in the District Court.
If convicted, Booth faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.