BAKERSFIELD, CA — An assistant coach at California State University, Bakersfield is expected to make a court appearance this month to face allegations of pimping and several other charges, police said.

Working off a tip, police in Bakersfield set up a sting operation and met with a human trafficking victim before arresting Kevin Mays. Mays was charged with pimping, pandering, possession of automatic firearms and high-capacity magazines, possession of a controlled substance while armed with a firearm, possession of more than 600 images of youth or child pornography, and several more charges, according to the Bakersfield Police Department.

“The investigation was initiated by an anonymous email sent to a CSUB staff member. Upon receiving the email, a prompt notification was made to CSUB Police, and it was subsequently reported to BPD on Sept. 3,” said Sally Selby, a spokesperson for the Bakersfield Police Department.

“Follow-up is still being conducted by investigators to determine if there are other victims or applicable charges,” Selby said.

Mays came to CSUB as a player before the start of the 2014-2015 basketball season. His longtime basketball Coach Rod Barnes gave him a job as player-development coordinator in 2019, earning $3,000 per month. The school conducted a criminal background check on Mays before he was appointed but found no problems, ESPN reported.

CSUB received the tip on Aug. 29 that led to the arrest of Mays. He was let go from the university on Sept. 4, said Jennifer Self, a spokesperson for CSUB.

“Our immediate focus was on the safety of our student-athletes and ensuring the matter was handled appropriately by the proper authorities. We determined that the allegations of criminal activity did not involve a CSU Bakersfield student or any member of our campus community. But the nature of the allegations devastated our campus community. We seized the opportunity to strengthen education and prevention efforts around human trafficking. To that end, we consulted with a local human trafficking expert and offered training and education focused on awareness and prevention for our campus community,” CSUB said in a statement.

Mays has been held without bail since his arrest and faces 11 charges. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to appear in court March 18 for a preliminary hearing.