By Mark Wineka

Salisbury Post

An older Woodleaf area man will be under electronic house arrest for 45 days and supervised probation for three years after pleading no contest this month to taking indecent liberties with children.

Superior Court Judge Larry Ford ordered Coy Daniel Sheets, 68, of 840 Ernest Miller Road, Salisbury, to serve four consecutive sentences of 16 to 20 months in prison, suspending those sentences for the three-year probation period and 45 days of wearing an electronic ankle bracelet at his home.

Sheets had faced 19 charges of taking indecent liberties with children.

The offenses occurred between June 2002 and February 2004, according to original reports from the Rowan County Sheriff’s Department, and the victims were three boys, ages 15 and younger.

Detectives Linda Porter and Sharon Hovis investigated the case, and the Sheriff’s Department arrested Sheets May 3, 2004. Ford sentenced him Dec. 14.

Reports said Sheets invited the boys to his home to do odd jobs or things such as play pool.

Winning their trust, he eventually showed them pornographic movies and materials before asking them to participate in sexual activities.

As part of his sentences, Sheets must have no contact with the victims in any way. He must participate in the sexual offender control program. As part of that, he will be a registered sex offender.

Ford also ordered that Sheets be allowed to travel outside of North Carolina for employment purposes only. Sheets must submit to warrantless searches and blood and urine tests for illegal substances, according to Ford’s decision.

The court gave the probation office 30 days to set up the electronic house arrest.

North Carolina had 1,632 arrests for sexual offenses in 2005, not counting rape or prostitution, according to numbers submitted to the FBI.

Rowan County has 194 registered sex offenders, according to the state registry.

Contact Mark Wineka at 704-797-4263, or mwineka@-salisburypost.com.