Lambert sexually abused one victim more than 50 times between 2007 and 2018.
ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. — A former Lindenwood High School and youth hockey coach has been sentenced to 75 years in prison after admitting to sexually abusing two children between 2007 and 2018.
U.S. District Judge Sarah Pytlik sentenced James Lambert, 42, of Lake St. Louis, to 75 years in prison. Lambert pleaded guilty in February to two counts of production of child pornography, one count of transporting a minor across state lines to engage in a sex offense, one count of receiving child pornography and one count of aggravated sexual abuse.
Lambert sexually abused one of the victims more than 50 times between 2007 and 2018, between the ages of six and 17, and sexually abused a second child between the ages of six and nine.
Family members told Lake St. Louis police that Lambert was volunteering with the Chesterfield Falcons youth hockey club at the time.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the first victim told police she suspected Lambert of abusing the second victim after he came forward. Investigators subsequently found hundreds of files on Lambert's electronic devices documenting the abuse of the second victim, as well as at least 1,185 files containing child sexual abuse material.
The victim also told police that Lambert would take her “all over the place” to hockey games and sporting events, including Cardinals, Blues and University of Missouri football games, as well as hockey tournaments and practices, which the former coach paid for to help his mother, a single mother, according to court documents.
According to court documents, the second victim was allegedly sexually abused between March 2020 and September 2021, when she was between 6 and 7 years old at the time.
Police said Lambert worked as a volunteer with St. Peters' youth hockey club in addition to his role as an assistant coach for Lindenwood's American Collegiate Hockey Association men's hockey team.
