Los Angeles high school coach arrested on suspicion of sexual assault of a minor: ‘I was just devastated’
A high school basketball coach in Los Angeles has been arrested on suspicion of sexual assault of a minor.
The Los Angeles Times reported the incident occurred in October and that the 17-year-old victim told police she met the coach on the night of Oct. 22.
The Times said the coach denies any wrongdoing. He was arrested on Tuesday and police are still trying to determine the extent of the sexual assault.
The Times said one of her friends, who was in the car with her, later told police that she did not want to press charges.
One of her friends called her an ‘enabler,’ the Times reported. The friend said she did not want the coach fired and had no proof of anything was wrong.
The team said in a statement to the Times that the coach is ‘devastated’ by the incident and it is cooperating fully with the police.
The coach’s attorney says the coach was shocked by the charges and the victim told her about the alleged incident days before the charges were made public.
The coach’s attorney said his client was taken into custody for ‘a preliminary hearing, bail hearing, and grand jury hearing’ on Tuesday.
The coach’s attorney said the coach is cooperating fully with police and is not being forced to give a statement.
The attorney described the victim as a former UCLA star who is now working for the L.A. Sparks, a team that plays in the Women’s National Basketball Association.
The coach, who is a former national player of the year and a head basketball coach at Huntington Park High School, was charged with committing lewd act on a minor.
Authorities said the coach’s wife told them about the sexual incident and the coach was questioned by police.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the coach denied that the sexual interaction happened and said the coach had been in a car with his wife for 11 years and his
